Itty Bitty Kitty Kaiba
by Kamiyashi
Summary: When Kaiba upsets Isis, she decides to teach him a lesson by changing him into a kitten and entrusts him to Yami. Together, the rivals have to find a way to return Kaiba to normal.
1. Chapter 01: The Incident

**Title: **_Itty Bitty Kitty Kaiba_

**Summary: **When Kaiba upsets Isis, she decides to teach him a lesson by changing him into a kitten and entrusts him to Yami. Together, the rivals have to find a way to return Kaiba to normal.

**Pairing:** Kaiba x Yami, Yami x Kaiba

**Rating**: M for graphic lemons, sexual content, and mature language.

**Disclaimer:** _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ does not and never has belonged to me.

* * *

**Chapter 01: The Incident**

"You dare summon me?" Kaiba growled as he stormed into Isis' office at the Domino City Art Museum.

"I believe it would be most beneficial to you," Isis replied in a calm voice, seemingly uninterested by Kaiba's rough demeanor.

Rolling his eyes for good measure, Kaiba said, "Doubtful."

"Then why did you come?" Isis asked, irritating Kaiba since he didn't actually know the answer to that question.

"Just shut up and get on with it," Kaiba ordered as he defensively crossed his arms over his chest.

Bristling at the tone, Isis reprimanded him, "It would serve you well to learn respect."

"As if you deserved any," Kaiba scornfully shot back with a sniff of disdain.

"I am only trying to assist you," Isis informed Kaiba.

"Then hurry up and get on with it," Kaiba snarled, feeling as if he had wasted enough time.

Taking a calming breath, Isis began, "The Millennium Stele—"

Snorting rudely, Kaiba demanded, "This shit again? I told you I don't believe in that nonsense."

"How can you refute the evidence before you?" Isis asked.

"Because it's not evidence, it's bullshit," Kaiba countered.

Frowning at Kaiba, Isis said, "You must learn—"

"The only one who needs to learn anything is you to stop wasting my time," Kaiba interrupted her again.

Taking a calming breath, Isis said, "I wish to speak with you about the pharaoh."

"Yami?" Kaiba scornfully asked. "I definitely didn't come here to listen about him."

"He is important to you—"

Interrupting Isis again, Kaiba refuted it, "No, I refuse to believe that!"

"Are you willing to let me speak?" Isis questioned irritably, getting annoyed by Kaiba's behavior.

"Do you have anything worth listening to?" Kaiba retorted.

"Yes, if you would let me _finish_," Isis icily said.

"If it's more of this Millennium Item bullshit, forget it," Kaiba told her as he turned to walk away. "I never should have come."

"Do not walk away from me, priest," Isis warned.

"Don't call me that!" Kaiba yelled at her as he turned back around to face her, the words having the desired effect of stopping him in his tracks.

"Then do not take me so lightly," Isis told him. "I am not to be trifled with."

"Or else, what?" Kaiba questioned, hearing the threat in her tone. "What could somebody like you do to someone like me?"

Narrowing her eyes at Kaiba, Isis replied, "Plenty."

Rolling his eyes again at her attempt at bravado, Kaiba declared, "I find that hard to believe."

Ignoring the slight, Isis tried to persist with her previous thought, "As I was saying, the pharaoh—"

It was more than Kaiba wanted to hear and he decided, "Whatever, I've wasted enough of my time with you," as he turned away from her. He had been foolish to expect anything different than her usual nonsense.

When Kaiba started to walk away, Isis decided that she had had enough of Kaiba's arrogant attitude. She would not be taken so lightly by him anymore. With that in mind, Isis began changing an ancient incantation that froze Kaiba and prevented him from leaving.

Struggling against the weird feeling enveloping him, Kaiba managed to ask, "…what?"

Isis neglected to answer him; she merely continued her enchantment until Kaiba suddenly knew no more and blacked out, still fighting to the very end.

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**A/N:** I'm sorry, I know it's a super short start, but soon we'll be back up to the verbose chapters you've come to expect from me, promise.

Special thanks goes out to **Nekoma0201** and **Sethycakes **for having a conversation with me on Twitter back in 2011 that spawned the idea for this fic!

I also have an **exciting announcement**, which is that with this story, **I will be resuming weekly updates again**. I will do my best to stick to the schedule, but in the event my health interferes again, I will return to bi-weekly updates, but I will announce it if the situation arises. But hopefully it won't!

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"_So what was it that you needed to talk about so urgently?" Yami asked as he entered Isis' private office at the Domino City Museum of Art._

The next chapter will go up on **Sunday, June 22nd**, but until then I look forward to hearing your thoughts! I know there's not a lot to go off of here, but I promise that this will be a fun ride and I hope you join me on it!


	2. Chapter 02: Receiving

**Chapter 02: Receiving  
**

Yami's curiosity was piqued after a mysterious phone call he received from Isis earlier in the afternoon. She had been so insistent that he come immediately that Yami felt he had to comply. He was hoping she had maybe discovered something useful about recovering his past, but he tried not to get too attached to the idea.

Knocking on her door, Yami let himself in with some trepidation once she called out to him to enter.

"So what was it that you needed to talk about so urgently?" Yami asked as he entered Isis' private office at the Domino City Museum of Art.

"I have a matter that only you can take care of," she cryptically answered while gesturing for him to sit down in a chair in front of her desk.

Sitting down, Yami questioned, "And what is that?"

Gesturing to a small white lump on her desk that had escaped Yami's attention, Isis said, "This," and subtly pushed a bag of clothes toward him across the desk.

The telltale lapels of Kaiba's trench coat immediately gave Yami a bad feeling. "And 'this' would be…?" he asked, knowing he probably wouldn't like the answer.

For once, Isis directly replied, "Kaiba Seto in an…_altered_ state," and sounded far too proud of herself for Yami's tastes.

"That," Yami questioned as he pointed at the small object on her desk," is Kaiba Seto."

"Indeed," she confirmed with a smile that infuriated Yami.

"That is Kaiba Seto," Yami repeated, the information still not sinking in completely. "You're telling me that Kaiba is now a…_kitten_?"

Nodding once, Isis answered, "Yes, that's the form the enchantment took."

"_You _did this?" Yami demanded, although a small part of him wasn't surprised.

Hesitating for a brief moment, Isis finally said, "Yes, as a way of teaching him an important lesson."

"A _lesson_," Yami repeated, still unable to wrap his mind around the concept of Kaiba reduced down to the tinniest kitten he had ever seen.

"He will learn his place or stay that way forever," Isis informed Yami, that note of smugness creeping back into her tone.

"Undo it," Yami demanded, knowing that even Kaiba didn't deserve that. "As your pharaoh, I command that you return him to his normal form."

Bowing her head and looking somewhat remorseful, Isis explained, "I cannot, for it is an enchantment, not a spell. He _must_ learn his lesson to break it."

"That could be never!" Yami protested, knowing first hand how stubborn Kaiba could be.

"Then he should learn to love the taste of cat food," Isis haughtily replied with a disdainful sniff.

"Isis!"

"He's always boasting about how smart he is, so let him show us how long it takes him to break free by learning his lesson," Isis continued, ignoring Yami's outburst.

Shaking his head as he looked at the tiny kitten on her desk, Yami said, "This is cruel, even by your standards."

Shrugging nonchalantly, Isis said, "Next time he'll think twice before being so insulting."

_You'll be lucky if he doesn't kill you when he returns to normal_, Yami thought, but said nothing. Instead he reached out and gently picked up the still slumbering kitten and marveled at how small Kaiba was. "Why isn't he waking up?" Yami asked as he accepted the museum shop gift bag of Kaiba's clothes.

"It's a side effect of the enchantment. He should awaken soon," Isis reassured Yami.

"Can you at least call a taxi?"

"I already have," Isis informed him as she led the way out of her office.

Carefully nestling Kaiba in with his clothes, Yami followed and tried not to jostle the bag too much as he tried to figure out how to handle the situation.

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**A/N:** I know this is another short chapter, but I promise that they get longer as things start to develop further. If you can just bear with me in these early stages, we'll soon be at my normal length. Just to give you an idea, the next chapter should be around 1,500 words or so.

I'm very grateful that everyone seems intrigued by this project and I appreciate you being willing to take a chance on this story! Your support means the world to me!

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

_Surely this had to be the weirdest nightmare Kaiba had ever had. _

The next chapter will go up on **Sunday, June 29th**, but until then I shall look forward to your reviews!


	3. Chapter 03: Discovering

**Chapter 03: Discovering  
**

Kaiba awoke with a splitting headache and a body that did not want to cooperate. He struggled to move, but everything felt like he was moving through the thickest of sludge.

Opening his eyes, Kaiba was startled that his world was suddenly reduced to muddy browns and yellows. _What the hell?_ he wondered as he blinked rapidly to try and adjust his eyes, but it didn't work. Only then did he notice that he wasn't in Isis' office, but an unknown bedroom. His confusion continued to mount as he looked around and tried to force his body to move off of the bed. He didn't know what Isis had done, but there would be hell to pay when he found out about it.

"Oh good, you're finally awake," Kaiba heard Yami say from behind him and he turned his head to see the source of the voice. What he hadn't expected to see was an unnaturally large version of Yami looking down at him. The weirdness of it caused him to make a sound of distress and Yami's expression immediately became one of concern as he tried to reassure Kaiba, "It's okay—well, not _okay_, but—" before cutting himself off to spare them both. Instead, Yami reached out and picked up Kaiba, which caused him to start trashing in the hold. "Ahh, don't fight me!"

Kaiba couldn't process how Yami had managed the impossible feat of picking up so easily. Surely this had to be the weirdest nightmare he had ever had. Suddenly they were moving and Kaiba dug his claws—wait, _claws_?—into Yami.

"Stop that, I'm not going to drop you," Yami chided, but still Kaiba didn't cease his struggle. Yami managed to detangle himself before using all of Kaiba to gesture in front of him. "Look."

Kaiba was about to scoff that he wasn't some loser dog that took orders, but he wanted answers as to why Yami seemed so big. He got his answer when he saw the impossible sight of Yami holding a tiny white kitten and his own body nowhere to be found. Kaiba started to fight again, opening his mouth to rant, but all that came out was an angry hiss, which startled him into stillness. He tried to talk in a normal voice and all that came out was a tiny mewl.

Unaware of how much of Kaiba's consciousness remained, Yami started to explain, "Isis thought you needed to be taught a lesson and she turned you into a kitten."

Kaiba bared his teeth and hissed again at the very mention of Isis' name. Kaiba couldn't comprehend how it was possible, but the proof was before his very eyes: he was currently trapped in the body of a tiny white kitten. He didn't understand it, but he did know that there would be hell to pay when he got his body back to normal. Kaiba continued hissing in his rage and he was startled when it caused Yami to hold him closer to his chest as if to comfort him. Kaiba Seto did not need comforting!

Deciding that staring at himself in the mirror was making it worse for Kaiba, Yami took him back over to the bed and set him on it so they could look at each other. Yami had to hold back a grin that even as a kitten, Kaiba still had an intense blue glare. "Okay, first things first, can you understand me?" Yami asked, figuring it was as good a place as any to start.

Kaiba nodded as best he could as he tried to accustom himself to a much larger Yami than he was used to. He appreciated that Yami still seemed to be treating him with respect rather than as a mere housecat.

"Do you want me to tell Mokuba?" Yami questioned, knowing the answer would probably be, "no."

Kaiba shook his head no and flattened his ears at the idea of his younger brother seeing him in such a state.

"Then are you okay staying with me?" Yami wanted to know. "I'm okay with taking care of you until you're…better."

Even though he was loathe to be indebted to his rival, it was the best option he current had available. Huffing in his annoyance as his tail flitted angrily, Kaiba forced himself to nod once.

"I know you're not happy about it," Yami told Kaiba, "but I'll do my best, okay?"

Lying down as his tail continued to angrily twitch behind him, Kaiba tried not to feel the burn of humiliation at being caught in such a situation. He stared morosely at his front paws and wondered why he was so tiny when he was an above average height in his normal body. _Adding insult to injury_, Kaiba assumed.

Hesitating a moment before acting, Yami reached out with uncertain fingers and pet Kaiba on the head to get his attention. "Hey, it'll be okay," Yami reassured him. "We'll figure this out somehow."

Ducking his head away from the touch, Kaiba shifted his gaze up to look at Yami critically. "Like I said before, Isis thought that you needed to learn a lesson, but that's the only hint she gave me," Yami continued, hoping it helped Kaiba somewhat. "For what it's worth, I'm really sorry she did this to you. I tried to make her undo it, but…"

Sympathy wasn't going to change anything and Kaiba turned his nose up at it. He hadn't expected Yami to start laughing and he looked at him out of the corner of his eye with disapproval.

"Sorry," Yami apologized as he tried to reign in his amusement, "it's just that you manage to maintain your arrogant dignity even as a cat. It's nice to know that some things never change."

Pleased to hear that Yami could still sense his dignity, it mollified Kaiba to a degree.

Sobering up some, Yami told Kaiba, "We still have to tell Mokuba something. He's going to worry that you just disappeared without a word."

It was a good point and Kaiba was mildly impressed with Yami's forethought. Spying Yami's cell phone on the sheets, Kaiba walked over to it on uncertain feet and batted at it while looking up at him.

"You want me to call him?" Yami asked, trying to interpret Kaiba's actions.

Shaking his head no, Kaiba tapped on the screen repeatedly with his paw to try and convey his meaning.

"You…want me to email him?" Yami guessed, relieved when Kaiba nodded. "But it won't make sense—wait." Interrupting himself, Yami got off the bed and went over to a bag on his desk. The crinkling paper made Kaiba's ears perk up and he watched with interest as Yami dug through the bag, which he saw was filled with his own clothes. Finally making a triumphant noise as he pulled out Kaiba's cell phone, Yami brought it over to where Kaiba was waiting on the bed. "What should we tell him that he'll believe?" Yami wondered. "A sudden business trip?"

Kaiba nodded at that; it sounded plausible enough that Mokuba should believe it.

"Where, though? Osaka?" Yami asked, earning him a head shake. "America? It's got a long flight time that would believably keep you out of contact."

Nodding, Kaiba was once again pleased by his rival's thoughtfulness. It was just further proof to Kaiba why Yami was a worthy rival.

Decision made, Yami tried to access the phone, only to be denied by a password protection feature on it. "What's your password?" Yami asked, wondering how Kaiba was going to communicate it to him.

Meowing three times in a row, Kaiba looked expectantly at Yami, but got a blank look in return. Kaiba meowed three more times as he nudged his phone with his paw. "Oh, the number three?" Yami realized, entering it into the phone. Kaiba meowed the rest of his password and Yami entered it carefully, relieved when the phone unlocked. Pulling up Kaiba's inbox, he saw a personal and business email. "Which should I use?" Yami asked him as he showed Kaiba the phone's screen. "One meow for business, two for personal."

It irritated Kaiba to be reduced to such a method of communication, but he begrudgingly had to admit that it was an effective method. Meowing twice, Yami nodded in understanding. He read the email out loud as he composed it and finally Kaiba meowed his approval. Kaiba could only hope that Mokuba would forgive him for such a thing and that he would turn back into himself soon.

"Is there anybody else you want me to email right now?" Yami asked and received a no. "Okay, what else?"

Kaiba tried to figure out how to communicate that he waned to see his emails, but figured it was just easier to go look himself. Standing up and walking over to Yami, Kaiba hesitated a moment before climbing in his lap and turning around to see the phone. Realizing what Kaiba wanted, Yami lowered the phone and slowly scrolled through his inbox. Thankfully there was nothing pressing and Kaiba quickly jumped out of Yami's lap and put some distance between them.

"What, I'm not a comfortable chair?" Yami teased as he set Kaiba's phone on his nightstand.

Kaiba lay down on the bed again, his tail curling around him protectively. He realized too late that it was a mistake as his eyes started to close against his will.

Yami thought it was the cutest thing, watching Kaiba try to stave off sleep and it made him want to pick up the kitten and cuddle him, but he resisted the urge. Somehow he doubted Kaiba would appreciate it. Still, he couldn't resist the urge to caress Kaiba's soft fur and was relieved when it didn't cause him to awaken.

With nothing else to do, Yami watched Kaiba sleep and thought about how much his rival would want to kill him for thinking he made the cutest kitten ever. Then again, he secretly thought Kaiba was cute as a human, so there was no change there; he was good at hiding his secret crush.

"…:::…"

**A/N:** And so the "fun" finally begins~. Thank you so much for your support on this story! I know it's a little odd, but I mean well.

Oh, and if you want an idea about what I think Kaiba looks like in this, please visit my Twitter page (my user name is Kamiyashi) for a link to my relevant Tumblr post.

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"_I suppose you want to take people showers, too?" Yami asked in an amused tone._

Because apparently it just wouldn't be a Kamiyashi story if somebody didn't end up in the shower, rofl. The next chapter will be posted on **Sunday, July 6th**, but until then, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this one!


	4. Chapter 04: Hunger

**Chapter 04: Hunger**

The first thing Kaiba noticed when he woke up was that his world was still miscolored and he had paws. _Still a cat_, Kaiba dejectedly realized. The second thing he noticed was that he was _starving_.

"Hey," Yami greeted him, startling Kaiba in the process. "Sorry, I just—"

Yami cut himself off, realizing that Kaiba probably didn't want to hear an apology. Instead he said, "You must be hungry."

Kaiba meowed once in confirmation as he stood up and took a few steps closer to Yami. Taking it as a good sign, Yami picked up Kaiba, causing the kitten to immediately start squirming in his hold. "Stop that," Yami reprimanded him as he set Kaiba back on the bed. "Would you rather jump?"

Kaiba cautiously approached the edge of the bed and he pinned his ears back when he saw how enormous the leap would be in his tiny body. He took a step back and was once again surprised when gentle hands took hold of him. "Thought so," Yami said as he gingerly put Kaiba on the floor.

Walking over to the bag of supplies he had gotten while Kaiba had slept, Yami pulled out cat food and opened it. Using a knife, Yami dished some out onto a small plate, figuring Kaiba would let him know if he wanted more. Setting the plate on the floor, Yami somehow wasn't surprised when Kaiba turned his nose up at it.

"You can't eat people food when you're a cat," Yami tried to reason with him. "It would make you sick and neither of us wants to deal with that. I made sure to get you the best money could buy, so it's as close to gourmet as you're going to get."

Finding it interesting that Yami assumed he only ate gourmet food, Kaiba sniffed delicately at the offered food. His brain was telling him no, but his stomach was arguing yes. Tentatively sticking his tongue out to try it, Kaiba was shocked that it actually tasted like meat. Deciding that being hungry was worse than eating cat food, Kaiba daintily ate as cleanly as he could to avoid staining his pristine white fur.

He paused when Yami sat down next to him to eat a snack of his own. It was considerate so he wasn't the only one eating, but Kaiba refused to feel grateful about it. Instead he ate until the nagging hunger abated. When he was finished, his body instinctually began to lick his paw and use it to clean his face. The very notion of it was distressing to Kaiba and he immediately stopped. Yami had to hold back a chuckle at Kaiba's expression and reaction. "I suppose you want to take people showers, too?" Yami asked in an amused tone.

Nodding with a meow, Kaiba perked up at the thought of bathing properly.

"Later tonight," Yami promised and they were both surprised when Kaiba started to purr at the idea. "You must really like that, huh?"

Mortified by the reaction, Kaiba stopped making the noise as quickly as he had started. He didn't like how Yami looked down on him in amusement and said, "You purr in your sleep, you know. It's what cats _do_, so why resist it?"

Kaiba wouldn't purr if he could help it. He wasn't happy about the situation he was in, so he refused to make that sound if he could help it.

Realizing he had forgotten something, Yami put down some water in a bowl for Kaiba to drink. Kaiba did so and it was surprisingly refreshing. He was also secretly pleased that Yami had the foresight to use bottled water.

Yami had to resist the urge to pet Kaiba, which was a lot harder to do than he would have imagined. Kaiba was just so damn cute as a kitten and Yami wanted to cuddle him. _You want to cuddle with him when he's human, too_, his mind gleefully pointed out, but he shushed it. It did not good thinking of those things now, especially when they didn't know how long Kaiba would be trapped in kitten form.

Having satiated himself, Kaiba walked back over to the bed and tried to estimate how to jump. Without a frame of reference it was pointless, though. Wiggling his rear as he crouched down, Kaiba gave his best effort to jump. He only managed to make it halfway and had to dig his claws into the sheets to catch himself. He heard Yami protest, but Kaiba ignored it as he climbed his way to the top of the bed. Kaiba may have been breathing heavily from the effort, but it was worth it to prove that he could do it despite his small size.

"So you're stubborn no matter what the form is, good to know," Yami teased as he sat on the bed near Kaiba.

It confused Kaiba why Yami said such a thing with fondness rather than annoyance. Sometimes he thought he'd never understand his rival. Why was he the one taking care of Kaiba anyway? Surely that went beyond the scope of their rivalry? Unless Yami was looking for Kaiba to be in his debt? But somehow that didn't seem like Yami. So then why was he taking such good care of Kaiba? Kaiba wished he could ask, but it was a question that would have to wait until he had his human body back to himself.

* * *

**A/N:** Poor Kaiba, he has so much to get used to in this one…

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

_Tapping Kaiba's paw and causing him to withdraw it back onto the sheet, Yami chided, "You just had to do that, didn't you?"_

The next chapter will be posted on **Sunday, July 13th**, but until then, I look forward to your reviews! I'm so grateful that everyone has really been enjoying this one and taking the time to let me know that. I know it's an odd project, but it's been a lot of fun.


	5. Chapter 05: Bath Time

**Chapter 05: Bath Time**

When Kaiba felt the urge to use the bathroom, he suddenly regretted drinking so much water earlier. It hadn't seemed like much at the time, but he kept forgetting that his bladder would be in proportion to his smaller body.

When Kaiba tried to jump down, Yami's hands stopped him again. "What do you want?" Yami asked as he set Kaiba on the ground.

Since he couldn't verbally answer, Kaiba went over and pawed at the closed door. Yami got the hint and opened it and Kaiba bolted in search of the bathroom. Finding the toilet as quickly as his little legs could carry him, Kaiba walked over to the toilet and put his paw on it when Yami came into the room.

"Ah," Yami said with understanding.

Kaiba stood up onto his two hind feet and braced his front two on the bowl, trying to figure out how to get up to where he needed to go.

"You're too tiny to use a toilet," Yami said with a laugh as he gently scooped up Kaiba. Kaiba would have fought the hold, but he had to use the bathroom too badly to do so. Taking it as a good sign, Yami brought Kaiba back to his bedroom and placed him near the litter box he had hidden in his closet to give Kaiba as much privacy as possible under the circumstances.

Kaiba meowed angrily at the idea of it, causing Yami to patiently explain, "You'll fall into the toilet if you try to use it. I put this here so you can take care of your business without anyone seeing."

As much as Kaiba didn't want to do it, he hated the thought of Yami being forced to clean up his mess off the floor more. Skulking into the closet while Yami went back over to the bed, Kaiba used the bathroom and forced himself to cover up his mess with litter. He immediately made a beeline for the closed door and began trying to open it from the bottom with his paw.

"Now what?" Yami asked as he got up to let Kaiba out of his room.

Heading back to the bathroom, Kaiba went to the shower room this time and sat down to look up expectantly at Yami. "You want to shower now?" Yami questioned and received an emphatic nod in response. "It's a little earlier than normal, but I guess it's okay. Unless you want to shower every time you use the bathroom…you are, aren't you?"

Kaiba huffed in annoyance as he entered the shower and waited for the water to start. He ignored Yami disbelieving laugh as he haughtily waited for Yami to return with a towel. What Kaiba had not expected was Yami to return completely naked and he made a noise that caused Yami to laugh at him. "What, did you think I was going to shower with my clothes on?" Yami asked him in a bemused tone of voice. "Just pretend we're at an onsen or something."

Realizing it was a little ridiculous to feel so scandalized, Kaiba waited for the water to get hot before he walked under the spray, his fur instantly flattening down and making him look even smaller than before. "I'm going to wash myself, then you," Yami informed him, not wanting to get soap on Kaiba after he was clean.

Kaiba huffed and said nothing as his eyes strayed to Yami's form against his will. Despite his slight stature, Yami was surprisingly well defined. Even Kaiba had to admit that Yami was aesthetically pleasing—if you were into that sort of thing. Still, it felt wrong to watch him bathe, so Kaiba forced himself to look away.

It felt like forever before Yami announced, "Ready."

Sitting on the floor, Yami gestured for Kaiba to get closer. "You're going to have to come closer than that if you want a proper bath," Yami chided him, pleased when Kaiba stopped just short of his crossed legs.

Grabbing a shampoo bottle, Yami dispensed some onto his hand before messaging it into Kaiba's fur. Against his will, Kaiba purred at the sensation because it felt so good. Yami's fingers were doing divine things to his body and Kaiba melted under the touch despite himself.

"If you roll over, I'll do your belly," Yami offered and Kaiba appreciated that his rival hadn't tried to command him to do so, which was the only reason he complied. When Yami worked the shampoo into his under belly, Kaiba's body stretched against his will to luxuriate under the feeling. He was surprised at how disappointed he was when the feeling of Yami's fingers on him went away as he began rinsing Kaiba off with the movable showerhead. Kaiba was grateful that Yami prevented any soap from getting into his eyes. He was even more appreciative when Yami's touch returned to work conditioner into his fur. Once again he became completely pliant under Yami's touch as he continued to purr in sheer contentment, pride be damned.

All too soon it was over and Yami got a big, fluffy towel and wrapped Kaiba up in it. Kaiba struggled against it, causing Yami to explain, "I'm not cleaning up wet kitty paw prints off the floor, so you're staying in the towel for a little bit."

Wrapping another towel around his waist, Yami picked up the towel with Kaiba wrapped securely inside and sat him on the bed while he changed into his night clothes. It was weird for Kaiba to see Yami so casual, almost like he was seeing something he shouldn't. But the thought was put out of Kaiba's mind when Yami returned to the bed and picked him up again to hold him.

Kaiba started to struggle and fuss, but Yami merely shushed him. "You're tiny, so you'll be dry in to time," Yami told him. "Just relax."

Kaiba silently fumed at the treatment, but it changed nothing. It was weird being held by Yami. He could hear the steady thrumming of his heart and it was oddly comforting—not that Kaiba Seto needed such things.

Finally Yami put him on the bed and unfolded the towel. "Please stay on the towel, you're still kind of damp," Yami requested.

When Yami left the room, Kaiba spitefully put one paw on Yami's comforter just because he could. Yami came back and saw it, causing him to grin rather than get angry like Kaiba would have assumed.

Tapping Kaiba's paw and causing him to withdraw it back onto the sheet, Yami chided, "You just had to do that, didn't you?"

Kaiba was surprised when Yami produced a small comb and started brushing out his fur once again. It felt so good that he started to purr against his will, making Yami smile. "You're a lot more honest when you're a cat," Yami commented as he continued brushing out Kaiba. It caused Kaiba to harrumph, which only made Yami's smile wider.

However, his smile quickly turned to a frown when he noticed that Kaiba had started to shiver. It made him pause and get up again, leaving the room temporarily. Kaiba was confused, even more so when Yami returned with a hairdryer.

Turning it onto the lowest setting, Yami began to blow dry Kaiba's fur. Kaiba pinned his ears down at the loud noise, but the feeling of hot air on him was divine. He purred louder in appreciation, unable to stop the reflexive behavior.

Yami grinned to himself as he continued, pleased when Kaiba rolled onto his back without being asked. It made it easier to access his denser underbelly fur and Yami tried not to coo out loud when Kaiba yawned; it was just too damn cute.

Running his fingers through Kaiba's fur to check if he was finished, Yami decided that the kitten was dry enough. Shutting off the hair dryer and placing it on the floor, Yami couldn't stop himself from petting the now fluffy white fur. "You're even softer now," Yami commented as he resisted the urge to burry his face in said soft fur.

The comment and tone annoyed Kaiba, but he let it go because he honestly felt too good to care about such small things. Besides, it wasn't like he could do anything about it at the moment anyway. No, all he cared about was getting back into his original body.

Kaiba was once again startled when he yawned and felt himself getting sleepier. He hated how weak his body seemed as a kitten. Kaiba Seto did not need naps!

Yami watched as Kaiba struggled against the sleep that was so eager to claim him. Kaiba swayed on his feet as his eyes kept fluttering closed only to open once more.

Taking pity on him, Yami gently picked Kaiba up and placed him on his pillow. Unable to resist petting him on the head, Yami told him, "Good night, Kaiba," and watched as the kitten finally curled up in sleep. It wasn't long before the purring softly began again and Yami grinned.

Stroking a velvety ear and watching it flick away from him, Yami couldn't help but comment, "Too cute," as he watched Kaiba sleep.

Eventually Yami stripped out of his clothes and crawled into bed. He was unaccustomed to hearing purring, but Yami decided that he liked it. _Maybe I'll get a kitten after this_, Yami contemplated, only to realize it probably wouldn't be quite as precious as Kaiba.

* * *

**A/N:** I know quite a few of you were hoping for a Kaiba freaking out because of water chapter, but I think there's enough of his humanity left that he would tolerate it.

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

_He was unprepared for Yami to lightly tap him on the nose in reprimand as he warned, "No biting."_

The next chapter will be posted on **Sunday, July 20th**, so please look forward to it! Until then, I eagerly await your reviews and thoughts on this chapter!


	6. Chapter 06: Exploration

**Chapter 06: Exploration**

When Yami's alarm went off, he reached over to his nightstand to hit the snooze button and was startled to feel fur against him arm. _Right, Kaiba, kitten_, Yami hazily remembered.

The action woke Kaiba up with a discontented murffle as he glared sleepily at Yami. Acting on impulse, Yami caressed Kaiba's head as he apologized, "Sorry, I forgot you were here."

It shocked Kaiba enough that he accepted the kind touch without fuss for once. Only once he realized what he had done did he try to nip at Yami's fingers for daring to touch him so familiarly. He was unprepared for Yami to lightly tap him on the nose in reprimand as he warned, "No biting."

Kaiba bared his fangs at Yami, who merely laughed, annoying the kitten further. "I shouldn't have to tell you of all people that," Yami continued as he pet Kaiba's body to prove a point. It earned him a swat from Kaiba's paw and Yami merely laughed again as he got out of bed. "I have to go to school today, so you're on your own until I come back," Yami informed Kaiba. "I can't let you roam the house because Jii-chan and aibou don't know about you yet, mostly because I thought you would have already returned to normal by now, but…"

The thought of being trapped alone in the room with nothing to do displeased Kaiba immensely; he wasn't used to such inactivity. Then again, it gave him plenty of time to contemplate what lesson it was that Isis wanted him to learn.

As Yami started to get dressed in his school uniform, he suddenly realized, "Shit, we didn't tell the school you'd be absent. Think an email will suffice?"

Meowing once for, "Yes," he watched as Yami hurriedly typed a message to the school on Kaiba's phone, finding it ridiculous that he was doing it half-dressed.

With that done, Yami focused on getting dressed as fast as he could, but it still wasn't fast enough. Yuugi knocked on his door and loudly called out, "Are you awake? It's almost time to leave."

Kaiba hunkered down as if to hide from discovery, but he was spared by Yami replying, "Yeah, I'm almost done," as he fumbled with his uniform buttons. "I'll be downstairs in a minute!"

Kaiba watched with apathetic eyes while Yami hurriedly prepared enough food and water for Kaiba while he was away at school. It's why Kaiba was startled when Yami came back over to him for a final pet on the head as he said, "Take care of yourself and try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

Kaiba huffed in response, causing Yami to chuckle as he left the room and shut the door behind him. Suddenly left alone, Kaiba realized just how big the room was and how small he was. It was a disquieting feeling that left him unsettled. Trying to put it out of his mind, Kaiba readjusted his position on the pillow and felt sleep trying to reclaim him. Since he had nothing else to do and no witnesses, Kaiba succumbed to the urge.

* * *

A glance at Yami's alarm clock told Kaiba it was early afternoon when he awoke. He could hardly believe it, but it was true. It forced him to his feet and toward the edge of the bed. Looking down, Kaiba swallowed hard before taking the leap without thought. He landed hard, but unharmed and feeling triumphant at what he had overcome. He took his time using the bathroom and eating breakfast; it almost made him feel human with the routine of it. The only thing that was driving him crazy was that he couldn't shower until Yami got home in a few hours and all of his kitten instincts were yelling at him to bathe the natural feline way. He hated being so dependant on his rival of all people, but so far it hadn't been _horrible_.

It could have been much, much worse. Isis could have kept him, tossed him onto the streets, or even given him to Jounouchi. They all were horrifying thoughts, putting his current predicament in perspective. Suddenly Yami didn't seem like such a bad option. He was still treating Kaiba with respect and dignity, although he could do with a little less petting. But then again, it was natural to want to pet a cat, so Kaiba supposed Yami just couldn't help himself. He had seemed far more tactile in the morning when he was still moving through sleep, which was odd. Or maybe it was just Yami taking more liberties as he became overly familiar.

Regardless of the reason, Kaiba wish it would stop. It made him feel like the kitten that he was and that was an unpleasant reminder. Plus he was concerned that he would embarrass himself eventually by accidentally purring at the treatment because it _did_ feel good. A little _too_ good, actually.

It all made him wonder how Yami would treat him once he returned back to normal. Even Kaiba had noticed a difference in the way Yami had been treating him. How much of that was because he was a cat and how much of it was because they weren't dueling? He had never really spent a lot of time around Yami when they weren't dueling, so Kaiba wasn't sure. But he knew that there was a difference between Yami's dueling persona and his daily one. Kaiba guessed it made sense. Not everyone could be that intense all the time, not even Kaiba.

Tired of thinking about such things, Kaiba pushed it from his mind as he explored Yami's room for lack of anything else to do. It was surprisingly clean, which Kaiba appreciated since he hated messes. The downside of that was that there was very little to look at in the room.

Kaiba tried jumping up onto Yami's desk and failed miserably; it was just too high up for his little body. It made him grateful that Yami wasn't there to see his failure. Instead of getting discouraged, Kaiba jumped up onto Yami's desk chair and then up onto the desk, causing some papers to slide. Kaiba's body reacted instinctually and pounced on the paper, crinkling it in the process. Flattening his ears in embarrassment, Kaiba continued pawing at it in an attempt to fix it without success. Hopefully Yami wouldn't notice…

There were some pictures posted on the wall of the desk and Kaiba was unsurprised to see a picture of Yami with Yuugi and their grandfather, as well as one of the entire Yuugi-tachi hanging out together. What _did_ surprise Kaiba was a picture of himself with Yami at a tournament. Why would his rival hang such a thing next to his precious friends? He knew that Yami wanted to be more than just mere rivals, but Kaiba Seto didn't need friends. So what did that leave him? It was a thought best left alone and he continued looking around the desk, but there was nothing interesting.

Jumping back onto the chair and then onto the floor, Kaiba resumed wandering around, walking under Yami's bed and wrinkling his nose in distaste when he saw it was dusty in the back corners. He had a momentary thought about staying under there to see Yami's reaction to him missing was, but Kaiba resisted the childish urge.

Growing bored from the lack of anything interesting to discover, Kaiba returned to the bed and tried to jump up onto it. Once again he failed to get the height he needed and had to climb up the sheets the rest of the way.

He sniffed delicately as he realized Yami's scent was strongest on the sheets. It made no sense why he thought it smelled so good when he was a kitten; he had never noticed when he was a human. He started to feel drowsy again and he walked up the pillow and fell asleep, surrounded by the comforting scent of Yami.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm so glad that everyone is still enjoying this story! It's been so much fun to write and see your reactions to it.

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"_Although I bet you would have made a cute bunny."_

Because let's face it, Kaiba would be an adorable little bun bun. The next update will go up on **Sunday, July 27th**, but until then, I look forward to your reviews!


	7. Chapter 07: Instincts

**Chapter 07: Instincts**

When Yami came home and saw no trace of Kaiba, he was surprised at how disappointed he felt that he was gone. Obviously Yami wanted Kaiba to return to normal, but he had been enjoying the company. Even if Kaiba was in an altered form, Yami still enjoyed spending time around him.

Thus it was a relief of sorts to see Kaiba emerge from the closet, even if he looked annoyed. "What's wrong?" Yami asked as he crouched down to Kaiba's level. When he got a pointed look, Yami had to laugh. "You want to shower, don't you?"

Kaiba perked up considerably, his tail waving in appreciation of the idea. Unable to deny Kaiba anything, Yami relented, "Okay, okay. You're rather spoiled, you know that? Or is it that you're just used to always getting your way?"

Meowing at the latter, Kaiba was confused when Yami softly continued, "Must be nice."

There was almost a melancholic note in his tone, but that couldn't be right. However, as quickly as Kaiba noticed it, the mood was gone as Yami brightly asked, "Ready?"

Trotting beside Yami, Kaiba once again waited for the water to get hot before entering the spray. He shocked himself when he caught himself hoping that Yami would bathe him again; he knew that he had enjoyed the experience, but that was a bit much. It made him pace under the water, unaware that he was drawing Yami's attention.

Misunderstanding the reason for Kaiba's pacing, Yami reassured him, "I'm going as fast as I can. I'm almost done."

It made Kaiba stop his pacing and sit, flicking his tail and sending water everywhere in a cascade. Finally Yami sat down next to him, nudging Kaiba closer to wash him.

As Yami worked the shampoo into Kaiba's fur, Yami told him, "It's not all bad, you know."

If Kaiba could have rolled his eyes, he would have. _What good is there in this?_ Kaiba wondered, failing to see where his rival was going with the thought.

Fluffing up Kaiba's mane, Yami said with a grin, "You kind of look like a baby Blue Eyes White Dragon," before laughing.

It was a bizarre upside and Kaiba could see why Yami was amused by the thought. Under different circumstances, Kaiba probably would have been offended that anyone would dare to compare such a tiny kitten to the symbols of his pride, but he'd let it slide this once. Of course, that might have had something to do with the way Yami's fingers were working him. Why did it have to feel so damn _good_?

"I hope you weren't too bored," Yami continued talking as he rinsed Kaiba's fur off with water. "I figured you'd sleep for most of it."

That was exactly what Kaiba had done, much as it galled him. But he found it strange that Yami would apologize for such a thing.

"Somehow I think you'd find cat toys insulting," Yami commented with a laugh. "Although I'd love to see what you would do with catnip."

Kaiba hoped that Yami didn't try to experiment on him like that. He was relieved when Yami continued, "That just seems cruel, though. Taking away what little power you have."

As Yami continued speaking, Kaiba found himself intrigued that Yami was able to carry on a conversation by himself for so long. Even more unusual was his urge to answer back to Yami sometimes. He had never really _talked_ to Yami before, just exchanged banter over duels or heated exchanges after a match. He had never really heard Yami laugh so freely and he refused to admit that he found the sound pleasing to the ear. If he did, he'd just blame it on the cat part of him.

All too soon the shower was over in Kaiba's opinion and he was once again swaddled tightly in a towel as Yami carried him down the hall. He still objected to the treatment, but he knew that the hairdryer was soon to follow and he'd put up with it for that.

They had almost made it back to the room when they were stopped by Yuugi's voice calling out, "Yami, what are you doing?"

"I just took an early shower," Yami calmly replied over his shoulder, tightening his hold on the towel Kaiba was in still.

Kaiba was trying to remain calm, knowing that logically even if Yuugi saw him, he wouldn't be able to identify him. Still, he found himself retreating further back into the comforts of the towel to try and hide out of instinct. It was positively embarrassing behavior, but there was no helping it when he was trapped in kitten form.

"Everything okay?" Yuugi asked, concerned by the strange actions.

Smiling reassuringly at Yuugi, Yami said, "Everything's fine," before going into his room and shutting the door. "Close call, huh?"

Softly meowing his agreement, Kaiba felt relieved as they sat down on the bed. He wanted to fidget as they quietly sat together, but he resisted the urge. What Kaiba had not expected was for Yuugi to knock twice and then immediately open the door as he called out, "Oh yeah, one more thing—"

Yuugi's sentence stopped when he saws Yami holding a tiny white kitten in a towel. "Yami, what…?" Yuugi asked in shock as he approached them.

"Surprise," Yami weakly said, not having planned out how best to introduce the kitten to his relatives.

"Why do you have a kitten?" Yuugi wanted to know as he sat down on Yami's bed to look closer at the kitten. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear the kitten was glaring at him.

"I'm watching him for a friend temporarily" Yami explained, figuring it was close enough to the truth.

"What's his name?" Yuugi asked as he reached out to pet the still damp kitten.

"Ah, best not," Yami warned as he subtly moved Kaiba out of the way. "He doesn't like being touched."

"Really?" Yuugi asked in surprise. "That's strange. Is he feral?"

"No, just picky about who can and can't touch him," Yami explained with a wry grin.

"Whose cat is it?" Yuugi wanted to know.

"Isis'," Yami lied, figuring it was better than admitting it was Kaiba.

"Why would Isis have you watch her cat?" Yuugi wondered, finding it strange.

"Cats were important back in ancient Egypt," Yami said by way of explanation, hoping his aibou would leave it at that.

Furrowing his brow as he tried to understand, Yuugi sounded uncertain as he questioned, "So she's trying to remind you of that?"

"I think so," Yami said with a shrug. "I'm not really sure."

"Have you told Jii-chan yet?" Yuugi asked.

"No," Yami sheepishly answered, feeling bad about it. "I haven't figured out a good way of telling him yet."

"I don't think he'll mind," Yuugi reassured Yami. "Although he may want to pet him."

Kaiba growled at the idea and was startled into silence when Yami pet him reassuringly to quiet him. It made him try to nip at Yami's hand and the former pharaoh's voice was reprimanding as he reminded Kaiba, "What did I say about biting?"

Flattening his ears in annoyance, Kaiba continued grumbling about his treatment. Yami had to hide his grin at the cuteness of a sulking Kaiba. "I think he's tired of being wet," Yami said with a laugh, trying to excuse the behavior in a realistic way.

"I'm surprised he let you bathe him at all," Yuugi commented, "since cats hate water."

"Yeah," Yami agreed, relieved when Yuugi stood up as if he were going to leave.

"What's his name, anyway?" Yuugi asked again.

Saying the first name he could think of, Yami said, "It translates to 'Dragon,' from Arabic."

"What a silly name for such a tiny kitten," Yuugi commented with a laugh, causing Kaiba to growl as menacingly as his little body allowed. "Maybe he'll grow into it someday."

Yami didn't say anything further as Yuugi left his room. He exhaled in relief when they were left alone together. "Was it just me or was that stressful for some reason?" Yami asked Kaiba with a laugh as he got up to put on his clothes. He then came back to the bed and unwrapped the towel to rub down the kitten, causing his fur to stick up straight.

Getting the comb and hairdryer, Yami began brushing out Kaiba, who promptly began to purr despite his resistance. He kept trying to stop, which only made Yami laugh harder. "I'm not going to hold it against you for acting like a kitten," Yami told him as he waved the dryer back and forth. "It's not embarrassing or anything."

Kaiba strongly disagreed, but still he continued to purr as he rolled onto his back and stretched with a yawn. "It must feel good, huh?" Yami asked as he continued brushing Kaiba.

Kaiba's tail fluttered in irritation, but he gave no other indication of an answer. Instead he watched Yami carefully and tried to figure out why he seemed so peaceful carrying out his current task. One of Yami's long bangs slipped from behind his ear and dangled down in front of Kaiba when the former pharaoh shifted positions. Without warning, Kaiba's body reacted by pawing at it playfully. He was mortified when Yami chuckled in response and even more so when his body continued playing with the strand of hair.

He finally got back in control of his reflexes and stopped, causing Yami to comment, "I don't mind, you know."

The problem was that Kaiba did. _Immensely_. It's why he was surprised when Yami continued, "You probably hate it, though. Not being able to stop those kitty instincts."

Kaiba hesitantly nodded in understanding and Yami smiled down at him kindly as a result. "I won't hold it against you," Yami promised. "It's not like I'm going to bring it up when you return to normal."

It was reassuring to hear, but Kaiba still didn't want to be any more of a cat then he had to be.

All too soon Yami announced, "All done," and shut off the hairdryer. Unable to resist, Yami pet the length of Kaiba's body. "So soft…"

Kaiba allowed it for a moment before he edged away from the touch; it was too comforting to be allowed.

"Yes, yes, I know I'm being bad," Yami sighed as he kept his hands to himself. "I just can't help it when you're like this."

Giving Yami a side eye at the comment, Kaiba huffed in indignation. It caused Yami to elaborate, "I'm not trying to disrespect you, Kaiba. I just want to help you get back to normal."

It was reassuring to hear that they had the same goal. _He's probably tired of taking care of me_, Kaiba reasoned, although Yami's actions said otherwise.

He watched with curiosity when Yami got up and was relieved to see him clean out his litter box, horrifying as it was for him to have to accept. Still, it was better than the gross alternative. Yami continued freshening up his food and water, which was enough to get Kaiba to jump down off the bed and wander over to his dishes to partake.

"Seems you did learn some new tricks while I was gone," Yami teased as Kaiba proudly walked over to him.

Yami left him to his food and went over to his desk to take out his homework when he noticed the wrinkled papers on his desk. "What happened here?" Yami asked as he straightened out the paper.

Flattening his ears and hunkering down, Kaiba tried not to feel guilty for what he had done. Yami grinned at Kaiba's reactions and shrugged it off with a casual, "Oh well, they're not important."

It relieved some of Kaiba's guilt, but the feeling still nagged at him slightly. He hated feeling that way. Why should he feel bad?

Yami sat down at his desk and started to do his homework, which was boring to Kaiba no matter what form he had. It had always been tedious regurgitation for Kaiba, but he had dutifully done it when necessary.

Finishing eating, Kaiba walked over to Yami and was annoyed when he was ignored. It wasn't that Kaiba required constant attention, but after being bored all day, he had hoped Yami's return would mean for something ore interesting.

Approaching Yami, Kaiba debated what to do. He was curious about what Yami was working on so intently and there was only way to find out that he could think of at the moment.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Kaiba jumped up onto Yami's lap, then up to his desk. "Yes?" Yami asked with a laugh as he once against resisted the urge to touch Kaiba.

Walking to the side of Yami's paper, Kaiba saw that he was working on English. He noticed question four was wrong, so he tapped it and meowed twice, looking expectantly at Yami.

"What's wrong with it?" Yami asked as he reexamined his answer.

Flicking his tail in irritation at not being able to properly answer, Kaiba had to wait for Yami to realize, "Oh, it's this one," as he changed his answer after reading it out loud. "Thanks!"

Kaiba was unprepared for the head scratch he received or the way he instinctually leaned into it. He was once again humiliated by the reaction, but Yami stopped before he could do anything about it.

Kaiba continued to watch as Yami worked on his homework and eventually his kitten instincts kicked in again and he pounced on the moving pencil before he could stop himself. It made Yami laugh as Kaiba attacked the moving object and bit at it. It was just too hard to stop himself from acting out on those built in instincts, but Kaiba finally got control of himself and jumped off the desk to skulk away to the bed where he wouldn't embarrass himself anymore.

Kaiba once again crawled up the sheets with his claws, causing Yami to comment, "Still haven't managed to master that, have you?"

Kaiba growled in irritation, but it didn't faze Yami in the least. "You know, you growl just as much now as you did when you're a human. And I'm going to need new sheets after this," Yami joked, confusing Kaiba as to why he didn't sound upset about it.

Kaiba continued to watch from afar as Yami finished his homework, although eventually his eyes began to grow heavier. Trying to stave off sleep, Kaiba forced himself to get up and pace the length of the bed.

It drew Yami's attention once he finished his homework and he walked over to his bed. "What's wrong now?" Yami wondered as he sat down by his pillow.

When Kaiba continued pacing, Yami acted before he could convince himself not to. Reaching out and taking hold of Kaiba, Yami hugged him close while petting him with a free hand. Kaiba fussed at the treatment, causing Yami to shush him. "Relax," Yami told him with a laugh. "How is this any different than when you're in a towel?"

Kaiba continued struggling, but Yami refused to let him go. "Listen to me, Kaiba," Yami told him, trying to get his attention. "You're going to figure this out and you're going to return to normal. But in the meantime, you need to learn to relax a little. And don't be afraid to rely on me, okay? I'm here to help you."

Against his wishes, Kaiba's body calmed under Yami's ministrations. It ceased fighting and gave in to the persuasive petting. Still needing to show resistance on some level, Kaiba growled at Yami.

"I know you're frustrated and I can't even imagine how hard this is for you, but you've got to learn to trust me a little," Yami continued, "because like it or not, it looks like we have to work together on this. There's a reason Isis called me specifically to take care of you and I doubt it was solely to irritate you."

The point was valid and made Kaiba quit growling. Maybe Yami was a clue to what he was supposed to be solving. Why hadn't he thought of that?

Still petting Kaiba's soft fur, Yami continued musing, "It probably has something to do with ancient Egypt, knowing her and your refusal to accept anything about it."

Kaiba didn't like how Yami's voice sounded so sad or the troubled look that haunted his eyes. It left him with a weird feeling that he didn't like in the least. However, he wasn't given long to dwell on it as Yami kept talking, "But that would make more sense if she turned you into an Egyptian Mau—or maybe that's too on the nose? Still, it seems weird that she turned you into a Blue Eyes White Kitten. Unless that's the form your soul naturally takes? Wouldn't that be interesting?"

When Kaiba failed to respond, it encouraged Yami to continue, "You're sort of like a cat, so it makes sense in a weird way. You're both regal, aloof, only wanting attention when it suits you. Although I suspect cats sleep _way _more than you do."

Meowing once in agreement, it made Yami grin in response. "Besides, it could always be worse. She could have turned you into a puppy. Somehow I doubt you'd like that very much since you're always carrying on about loser dogs."

The thought was horrifying to Kaiba, thinking about Yami having to walk him on a leash in public to take care of his business. As if picking up on his thoughts, Yami commented, "Suddenly it's not so bad to be a cat, yeah? Although I bet you would have made a cute bunny."

The idea was a ridiculous one and Kaiba started fidgeting in Yami's hold again. He had become far too complacent in Yami's grasps.

Letting him go, Yami was pleased when all Kaiba did was sit in front of him and stare; it was better than sulking off to hide. Yami evenly met Kaiba's gaze as he pointed out, "Even as a kitten you have an ice cold glare."

It pleased Kaiba to hear and he tucked his tail in appreciation of the comment. He wasn't surprised when Yami returned to the previous topic, "We'll get this figured out, Kaiba."

Hesitating slightly before meowing in agreement, Kaiba ducked his head when Yami reached out to pet his head again. "I will miss being able to do this," Yami teased as he pet Kaiba anyway. "You'd probably kill me if I ever dared to do anything like this when you're a person."

_Why would he bother when I'm human?_ Kaiba wondered, finding it strange. Growling a warning as he swatted at Yami, it simply made the former pharaoh laugh.

"Yeah, yeah," Yami said with a fondness in his voice that confused Kaiba. And why did it make him feel so warm?

* * *

**A/N: **A nice extra long chapter this time! There's just so much cuteness in this story…

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

_Yami exclaimed, "Hey! Stop that," but there was laughter in his voice._

Not much to add here, so I'll simply say the next chapter will go up on **Sunday, August 3rd**. I look forward to your reviews in the interim! Thank you so much for being so generous with your thoughts on this story!


	8. Chapter 08: Shuffling the Deck

**Chapter 08: Shuffling the Deck**

When Kaiba woke up, he was confused because he didn't remember falling asleep. He immediately noticed that Yami was on the floor, surrounded by a pile of Duel Monsters cards. It made Kaiba curious and he jumped off the bed and landed in the middle of the pile, scattering the cards every which way.

Yami exclaimed, "Hey! Stop that," but there was laughter in his voice.

The sound the cards made when they scattered caused Kaiba to pounce on them, sending them flying further on the hardwood floor. He continued playing until Yami's hands picked him up and placed him in the former pharaoh's lap. Kaiba immediately tried to crawl back out, only to be stopped. "What were you trying to do? Help me shuffle?" Yami asked with another laugh.

Kaiba continued trying to escape without success and finally he ceased struggling, hoping he could lull Yami into complacent so he could get away. Yami took it as a good sign and pet Kaiba calmingly. "I _was_ reorganizing my deck," Yami told Kaiba as he toyed with a velvety ear that flicked away from him. "What do you say to a duel when you return to normal?"

Kaiba meowed once enthusiastically, excited by the prospect of dueling his rival.

"It's been too long," Yami mused as he continued petting Kaiba. "I miss the challenge of our fights."

The wistful tone made Kaiba want to question the picture of himself on Yami's desk, but he lacked the ability to convey such a thought in his current form. It was frustrating and he harrumphed quietly, making Yami laugh as he assumed Kaiba was making a noise in agreement with him. "We'll fix that as soon as you're back to normal," Yami promised before he finally stopped petting Kaiba. It left Kaiba with a mixed feeling of being grateful that Yami stopped and missing the touch all at the same time. It was infuriating and Kaiba was thoroughly tired of it.

A quiet knock on the door interrupted them and Yami called out, "Yeah?"

Yuugi entered with a smile at the duo sitting in the middle of the floor, finding it a precious sight. "Aren't you two cute together?" Yuugi teased, causing Yami to laugh rather than take offense.

"Yeah," Yami agreed as he stroked under Kaiba's chin and earned a growl for his efforts. "What's up?"

"Everyone is coming over and I wondered if you wanted to hang out," Yuugi invited him.

Even though he hated leaving Kaiba alone, Yami knew that turning down the invitation would seem too suspicious. "I guess," he reluctantly agreed.

"You can finish deck building once they're gone," Yuugi promised, assuming that was the source of Yami's displeasure. "Although it looks like you have a bit of a mess on your hands."

"Well, _someone_ tried to help me shuffle and did entirely too good of a job at it," Yami joked, still finding the visual of it funny.

"So I take it you're not signing up for a kitten of your own any time soon?" Yuugi guessed.

Humming to himself, Yami commented, "I wouldn't say that. It's been fun."

_Fun?_ Kaiba venomously thought as he reacted to his current predicament. It wasn't exactly the word that Kaiba would choose. As if sensing the direction of his thoughts, Yami's hands once again found Kaiba and tried to soothe away the anger through gentle petting. It made Kaiba get up to try and leave, but he was prevented from doing as such, which only served to irritate him further.

Just as Yuugi was about to say something further, the doorbell rang and interrupted them. "I bet that's Anzu," Yuugi excitedly guessed as he got up and started to head for the door. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, give me a minute to clean up," Yami requested as he started straightening his cards up into neater piles.

"Okay!" Yuugi brightly exclaimed as he left to go answer the downstairs door.

"Are you going to behave while I'm gone?" Yami teased, earning him a fierce glare from a less than amused Kaiba. "I'll try not to stay too long."

That wasn't the problem, but once again, Kaiba didn't have a way of communicating that to Yami.

Deciding that he had believably delayed as long as he could without it looking suspicious, Yami promised, "I'll be back soon," before he left with a final look over at Kaiba before shutting the door and heading downstairs to meet with his friends.

Doing his best to put Kaiba from his thoughts, Yami put on a smile as he entered the living room and saw his aibou chatting with Anzu and Honda on the couches. "Where's Jounouchi-kun and Mokuba?" Yami asked as he took a seat on one of the individual chairs

Before anyone could answer, the doorbell rang again. "I bet that's one of them now," Yuugi said as he got up to go answer it. To his surprise, Mokuba and Jounouchi were both at the door, having arrived at the same time. As they entered the living room, Yami asked, "Is that everyone?"

"Yeah, Mai-san and Otogi were busy today," Jounouchi explained as he entered the room with a broad grin. "How are you doing, man?"

"Alright," Yami replied, his eyes straying over to Mokuba to see how he was doing. "You?"

"Excellent as always," Jounouchi boasted, very little getting him down ever. "What have you been up to?"

Even though he felt bad for lying, Yami answered, "Oh, nothing much."

"You're not going to tell them?" Yuugi asked in surprise.

_I wasn't planning on it_, Yami thought to himself, but outwardly he simply shrugged.

"Tell us what?" Anzu asked, her curiosity piqued.

"He's been watching after Isis' kitten," Yuugi told them, unable to contain his excitement over it. "It's the cutest little kitten you've ever seen!"

Arching an eyebrow at his aibou's reaction, Yami could only grin and agree, "Yeah."

"I want to see!" Anzu exclaimed, echoed by a chorus of the rest of their friends agreeing.

Hesitating, Yami warned, "I don't think that's such a good idea. He's not exactly what I would call _friendly_."

"Awww, please, can we see him?" Anzu pleaded, once again echoed by the rest of their friends.

Looking over at Yuugi and seeing the big hopeful look in his violet eyes Yami knew that he couldn't deny him. Besides, it wouldn't be worth the harassment anyway. "I'll go get him," Yami said with some resignation as he got up from his comfortable spot on the couch chair and went upstairs to fetch Kaiba.

Even though there was some part of him that felt like he should knock to alert Kaiba, it seemed silly to do so on his own door. Besides, with a kitten's delicate hearing, Kaiba probably had already heard him coming up the stairs and figured out what had happened.

Entering his room, Yami was surprised when he didn't see Kaiba anywhere. "Where are you?" Yami asked as he shut the door behind him. Walking over to check the closet, Yami was surprised not to find Kaiba, so that logically left only one place: under the bed.

Crouching down to peek under his bed, Yami grinned when he saw a little white lump standing out against the darkness. "What are you doing under there?" Yami wondered as he reached over to try and get him.

Edging away from the outstretched hand with a hiss, Kaiba did his best to evade capture. He had heard the loud voices carry and knew exactly what Yami was planning and wanted no part of it. "Come on, it's not like they're going to know it's you," Yami tried to reason with Kaiba. "Who in their right mind would ever guess you'd be in this situation?"

It was a valid point, but Kaiba still didn't like it. Kaiba's resistance made Yami lay on the floor so he could reach better and he finally succeeded in capturing Kaiba with a triumphant noise as the kitten struggled in his hold. Hugging him close to his body and petting him even though he knew Kaiba couldn't stand it, Yami promised, I'll do my best to make sure they don't touch you too much, okay?"

Growling in anger, Kaiba continued fussing until they got to the stairs before he decided that was an undignified way to make an entrance. Instead he held his head up high and looked down at them all with as much aristocratic arrogance as he could muster in his tiny little body. "That's more like it," Yami joked with a stroke of a velvety eat that he couldn't get enough of touching. It flicked away from his touch, but Yami didn't take it personally. Instead, he walked into the living room with his captive and took his seat once more.

The cooing began immediately over how cute he was and Kaiba fluffed up a bit under the praise despite himself. He only cared what one person in that room though, though, and that was his younger brother. Mokuba seemed to be doing okay, even though it was unusual for Kaiba not to call him while he was away on a trip. It made him feel horribly guilty, but there was nothing to be done about it in his current state.

"This is Dragon," Yami introduced him, figuring the translated name would serve well enough.

"He's _so_ tiny!" Jounouchi exclaimed, causing Kaiba to flatten his ears in displeasure. "Aren't you afraid you'll step on him or something?"

"He's smart enough to stay out from under foot," Yami explained, petting Kaiba's head despite himself. It was just too hard to have a cat in his lap and not do so.

"Can I hold him?" Anzu asked, never having seen a kitten so small and cute before in person.

Hesitating, Yami once again warned, "I don't think that's such a good idea. He really doesn't like being touched very much."

"He seems to be okay with you petting him, though," she pointed out, making Yami curse his wandering hand.

"I think that's only because he's used to me," Yami tried to explain it away.

"I promise I'll be gentle," Anzu said as she came closer to examine the kitten up close.

When she reached out to pet him, Kaiba swatted at her hand with his paw, causing Yami to tap his paw disapprovingly as he warned, "Don't be rude."

Turning around and barring his teeth at Yami, Kaiba growled for good measure and stopped when Yami lightly bopped him on the nose in reprimand. "Be nice," Yami told him.

When Anzu tried to pet him after that, Kaiba allowed her two strokes before he jumped off of Yami's lap and onto the floor to escape it. He had thought it was a good idea at first, but he realized without Yami's protection from the many hands, he had just opened himself to everyone touching him.

Rather than accepting that, Kaiba made a beeline over to Mokuba and sat down in front of him, hoping he would get the hint. Mokuba did and bent down to scoop up the kitten with kind hands. "Maybe he just doesn't like girls?" Mokuba wondered, earning him an eye roll from Anzu at the comment.

"That's silly," Anzu said, although she was at a loss to explain why the kitten was so eager to get away from her; normally animals loved her.

Petting the kitten gently, Mokuba was pleased when the touch wasn't rejected outright. "I bet my brother would love this," Mokuba commented with a note of sadness in his voice that made Kaiba's heart ache.

"I can't imagine your brother liking something as worthless as a kitten," Jounouchi countered, figuring that Kaiba would see them as a waste of time.

"He's a surprising softy when it comes to thing like that," Mokuba confessed, although he could imagine his brother's displeasure in his doing so. "Besides, this looks like a furry little Blue Eyes White Dragon. He'd love it."

Hiding a grin behind his hand at the similarity of their thoughts, Yami agreed, "Yeah," and continued watching the brother carefully and hoping he hadn't made a miscalculation in bringing Kaiba down to see everyone.

"Speaking of which, where is your brother?" Honda asked, surprising Yami and Kaiba both with his curiosity. "I haven't seen him around much lately."

"He's busy with a project in America," Mokuba answered with a frown that quickly disappeared when Kaiba rubbed his head against Mokuba's hand. "He should be back soon, though."

Petting the kitten's head at the urging, Mokuba couldn't resist the urge to pick the kitten up further and rub his face against the soft fur. "He's so cute!" Mokuba exclaimed, laughing when the kitten tentatively licked his cheek. "I'd never want to give him back!"

Smiling at Kaiba's affectionate reaction toward his brother, he replied, "I know what you mean. But he's not mine to keep," and tried not to feel the underlying truth in his words. Kaiba would never be his, much as it pained him.

Kaiba glanced over at Yami, hearing the sadness in his tone and wondering what would cause such a reaction. He saw the troubled look in Yami's crimson eyes for but a moment before it was gone and it made him flick his tale in irritation at not being able to understand his rival's quickfire emotional changes. However, he could devote time to thinking about that later; for now, his attention was on Mokuba. Even though he didn't want Mokuba to know the truth, it felt good to see with his own eyes that his brother was fine and doing well. The very smell of him was a comfort to Kaiba, but it was different than with Yami's. There was just something reassuringly familiar about his brother's scent and he wondered how he had never noticed it as a human—or if he would even notice it when he returned to his normal form.

"Let someone else see him," Jounouchi told Mokuba as he held out his hands expectantly.

"Okay," Mokuba reluctantly said as he started to hand over the kitten, laughing when it clung to him to prevent going to Jounouchi. "I don't think he wants to see you very much, though."

Taking the kitten in his broad hands, Jounouchi watched in amusement as the kitten fought with everything it had to escape from his grasps. "What's his problem?" Jounouchi asked in exasperation, wondering why the reaction was so different from the one he had to Mokuba.

"I told you he really doesn't like being touched," Yami reiterated.

Inhaling sharply when the kitten's claws managed to slice into him, Jounouchi exclaimed, "Hey, stop that!"

"Well, you know what they say, cats and dogs never get along," Mokuba teased as he continued watching the struggle in amusement.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny," Jounouchi muttered, hearing all too clearly as the older Kaiba called him a loser dog in his mind.

Getting up off the couch and walking over to Jounouchi, Yami picked up Kaiba and held him close to his chest. He could feel Kaiba's little heart pounding hard and he made a comforting noise at him as he smoothed over his fur. "It's okay," he reassured him, earning him another growl. "I think he's at his limit for human interactions."

Walking back over to his seat and sitting down, Yami placed Kaiba in his lap and pet him comfortingly as he tried to get him to calm down a little. It mad Kaiba curl up into a tiny ball as he harrumphed quietly in displeasure. Yami continued petting his head and back in steady strokes, eventually causing Kaiba to purr despite himself. He did his best to quash the noise, but it stubbornly persisted. He didn't like the way it amused Yami, but there was nothing to do about it. "That's better," Yami murmured, pleased with the acquiescence.

"Honda, you still haven't seen him yet," Jounouchi realized, causing Kaiba to flatten his ears in displeasure. He was tired of being passed around like some toy!

"I don't think he's very interested in me at the moment," Honda said with a laugh, easily able to read the kitten's body language. "Maybe later when he's calmed down some. I'm not that interested in being sliced to shreds by little kitten claws. Those things hurt!"

"Why would Isis have you watch her cat if it hates everyone?" Anzu asked, causing Yami to groan on the inside at the question.

"I'm not really sure," he truthfully answered, figuring it was better than lying. "But she asked me to, so I agreed. I don't mind it."

"How long are you keeping him for?" Mokuba asked, still amused that he was the only one that the kitten hadn't reacted badly to of the group.

"She didn't say," Yami replied, wondering if that sounded as strange to the group as it did to him. "It should only be for a few days until he's finished with her business."

"I can't imagine she'd want to take such a tiny kitten with her back to Egypt and here again," Mokuba commented, knowing it would be a traumatic experience for such a tiny creature.

Despite himself, Kaiba was being lulled to sleep by the rhythmic petting he was receiving. He fought against it, but with a tiny kitty yawn, he was soon gone into sleep despite his best efforts to stay awake.

* * *

The sound of a quiet _click_ woke up Kaiba and he was startled to see Yuugi standing in front of him with a cell phone. Baring his teeth at Yuugi and hissing, he was less than amused when it made Yuugi laugh before he walked away. It was enough to get Kaiba to look back and up to see Yami asleep, with one of his hands resting on the kitten's back, as if he fell asleep mid-pet. It made Kaiba turn around and instead of nipping at the hand like he had planned, for some reason his body insisted on licking Yami instead. Kaiba was surprised by how different Yami tasted when compared to Mokuba and yet both were still somehow comforting. Why was it that word kept associating with Yami? It was weird to Kaiba and he wanted it to stop.

Still, he darted his tongue out for another lick, then two, and was startled when Yami moan, "Mm, Kaiba," in his sleep. It sounded downright sexual and Kaiba flattened his ears over hearing something he shouldn't have. Surely that was just a mistake, right?

It was enough to get Kaiba to nip at Yami's hand and it woke him up as he exclaimed, "Ow! What was that for?"

Meowing once indignantly at Yami, Kaiba swished his tail in annoyance as he looked up at Yami with his nose turned up at him. "What's your problem?" Yami wanted to know as he picked up the kitten and held him close to his chest as he stood up from the couch. "And how long was I asleep?"

"About two hours," Yuugi answered as he returned from the kitchen. "You were pretty out of it with the kitten, so I thought it best to leave you alone."

"Oh," Yami said with some surprise since he wasn't really the napping type. But after everyone had left, Yami hadn't had the heart to disturb Kaiba's rest, so he had remained as he was on the couch. Apparently there was just something about the rhythmic purring that lulled him to sleep in the interim. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," Yuugi told him as he waved it away.

"Thanks," Yami said, still stroking the kitten in his arms. It caused Kaiba to try and nip at his thumb and Yami turned his attention to the kitten. "What did I tell you about biting?"

Growling at Yami in the most threatening manner he could manage, Kaiba wasn't pleased when it caused both of the teens to start laughing at him. "He certainly acts bigger than he is," Yuugi commented.

"Tell me about it," Yami commiserated with a laugh. "I don't mind, though. I think it's cute."

"You think everything about him is cute," Yuugi pointed out, having seen enough of their interactions to judge that much.

Even though Yami knew there was no way for Yuugi to know about his crush on Kaiba that caused the same reaction, he still felt a flutter of nervousness flash through him. "I just can't help it," Yami said with a laugh of his own. "He's just too precious for words."

The reaction caused Kaiba to growl again in displeasure, because he really didn't like thinking that he was cute or precious or anything less than awe-inspiring or intimidating. "I know, I know, I'm damaging your little kitty ego," Yami told him with a pat on the head. "You just have to face the facts."

Yuugi stifled a laugh at the duo as he commented, "You're going to miss him when he's gone, aren't you?"

Ruffling the fur on the kitten's head, Yami softly confirmed, "Yeah," with a sadness that confused Kaiba. "But I'll worry about that later."

"I bet Jii-chan would let you get a kitten if you wanted," Yuugi suggested since their grandfather had reacted well to having the kitten in the house.

"Somehow I doubt it would be the same," Yami said, knowing it would be true. "We'll see."

The idea of being replaced didn't sit well with Kaiba and he harrumphed at the thought, earning him another petting that he didn't reject this time. "Oh well, I should probably get upstairs. I bet he's hungry."

Meowing twice in negative, Kaiba was pleased when it made Yami correct himself, "Or most likely a shower."

When Kaiba meowed once enthusiastically at that, Yami couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, shower it is."

"I've never known a cat who likes to take showers," Yuugi commented, finding it strange.

"He follows me there, so he must like it," Yami said as he turned and started to walk toward the stairs.

Following after him, Yuugi added, "That is so strange."

"Quirky kitty," Yami teased with a laugh as he played with Kaiba's ear that was quick to flick away from him. It was only once he was safe and alone in his room that he added, "Quirky Kaiba is more like it."

If Kaiba had possessed the ability to shrug he would have; there was nothing wrong with liking cleanliness. Besides, with his white fur, it was a necessity to bathe often since he refused to take cat baths.

Putting down Kaiba so he could gather his clothes to take with him to the shower, Yami hurried up and led the way down the hall. Kaiba was quick to follow, eager for another shower with Yami's divine fingers to work his body.

* * *

**A/N:** Really nice and long chapter for you to enjoy this week! I have a very specific image of the card "shuffling" scene and if you visit my Twitter account, you can see the link with the adorable gif set!

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

_Kaiba begrudgingly had to admit that Yami was more than just a mere rival, but what did that make him?_

The next chapter may go up very late on **Sunday, August 10th** because I'm returning home from a trip that day, but it WILL be posted on that day. Unfortunately, I don't have time to answer reviews tonight, so I will be doing that periodically throughout this week. I apologize for my delay, but things were a little more hectic this week than normal with my jobs. However, I WILL reply. Eventually. _ My apologies!


	9. Chapter 09: Remorse

**Chapter 09: Remorse**

After another shower together that was far too pleasurable for Kaiba's tastes, he was thoroughly enjoying the hair dryer afterward. He once again lost his battle against purring and he didn't like the fact that it made Yami have a small smile, even as he was intrigued as to why his reaction would inspire such a reaction. Yami was still as much a mystery to him as ever—maybe even more so now that he had spent a considerable amount of time in the former spirit's presence.

As he shut off the hair dryer and set it aside, Yami couldn't resist the urge to take advantage of the fact that Kaiba was still on his back with his belly exposed and pet him. Kaiba's purring got louder as he stretched in pleasure at the sensation before the more human side of him remembered that was a rather undignified reaction. Swatting at Yami with his paw to make him stop, Kaiba was surprised when he heard a resulting hiss of pain.

"There's better ways to get me to stop doing that, you know," Yami chastised Kaiba as he looked down at his forearm and saw some blood from the small cut of the kitten claws that had snagged on him.

Even though the petting had stopped and clearly wasn't going to continue, Kaiba rolled over and stood up, taking a few steps closer as he tried to see what he had done. He flattened his ears when he saw that he had injured Yami, because it really hadn't been Kaiba's intension. Even though it was a miniscule mark that was barely deep enough to bleed, Kaiba was surprised to find himself feeling bad about what he had done. Why should he feel bad for using what weapons he had at his disposal to defend himself? He certainly didn't have such remorseful reactions when he was a human and had taken out an enemy. The problem was, Yami wasn't an enemy and it hadn't been Kaiba's goal to do such a thing, which was definitely different than what his normal situation was. It felt like a gross over reaction and Kaiba didn't know what to do to make it better.

He watched as Yami got a tissue from his nightstand and wiped off the little bit of blood and as he continued commenting, "Honda wasn't kidding, those little things are pretty sharp."

Kaiba hesitated before he nuzzled at Yami's hand on instinct and he felt himself inadvertently perk up when he was smiled at, even as it managed to make him feel a little worse about what he had done at the same time. "I'm not upset," Yami reassured him as he stroked Kaiba's head since it was being offered, "just a little surprised I guess."

It still felt like something needed to be done and Kaiba felt frustrated that he didn't understand his own reaction to the situation. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have done that," Yami apologized, but that just made it worse for Kaiba somehow.

Meowing twice in the negative, Kaiba put his paws on Yami's shins and stood up a little as he tried to find someway to convey his nebulous thought to Yami. The fact that Kaiba would have struggled with the same issue as a human was little consolation.

Once again smiling kindly at Kaiba, Yami picked him up and held him with one arm while petting him with his other hand and the purring once again resumed. "Although I get the sense that you didn't really mean to do that," Yami continued. "You must just be dying right now from having your humanity overwhelmed by those little kitten instincts that keep kicking in all the time."

The fact that Yami understood that wasn't surprising to Kaiba by now and he looked up at him while pondering why his rival always seemed to understand him on a level no one else did.

The kitten looked so precious in that moment, Yami couldn't resist his own instinct to place a sweet kiss on top of Kaiba's head as he reassured him, "It's okay, Kaiba. I'm sure it'll all be over soon and things will be back to normal for you."

Kaiba was utterly perplexed by how to process the fact that he had just been kissed, nor did he know what to do about it or the fact that the almost wistful tone in Yami's voice was bothering him on some level. "I'd like to think that we could be friends after this, but somehow I doubt you'll want anything to do with me since I've seen you like this," Yami said and before Kaiba could even process what he was doing, he was meowing twice to deny it.

Putting Kaiba back down on the bed, Yami grinned at him wryly as he replied, "No, I suppose you'll have to have something to do with me because you'll feel honor bound to repay me for this. That's really not good grounds for a friendship, though."

For some inexplicable reason, the thought distressed some part of Kaiba and he huffed in frustration. Unable to figure out any other way to convey otherwise, Kaiba cautiously walked forward and crawled into Yami's lap and settled himself comfortably as he glanced upward as covertly as he could.

Yami was deeply surprised and he couldn't stop himself from smiling or once again reaching out to pet Kaiba. "It'll be okay," Yami murmured as he continued stroking the kitten until eventually Kaiba fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N:** I apologize for the late update. I thought I would have more time yesterday than I did. Hopefully it was worth the wait, because this was a new chapter I worked up on my trip. I'm also very sorry that I'm so woefully behind on my review responses. Time keeps getting away from me, which is frustrating.

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

_Kaiba begrudgingly had to admit that Yami was more than just a mere rival, but what did that make him?_

The next chapter will be posted on **Sunday, August 17th** and I hope you enjoy it!


	10. Chapter 10: Late Night Thoughts

**Chapter 10: Late Night Thoughts**

Watching Yami sleep, Kaiba couldn't help but think of him and the past few days they had spent together. Yami had been nothing but kind to him and it felt like something that Kaiba would have to make up for once he returned to human form. He didn't like being indebted to anyone, especially not a rival. Although he hadn't really seen Yami as his rival while trapped as a kitten—but that wasn't to say that he had thought of him as a friend, either. No, Kaiba Seto did not need friends. But if he _had_ to have a friend, he could do worse than Yami. He was loyal, kind, and willing to do anything to help out a friend—including taking care of them when they were a kitten, apparently.

Sure, he knew that Yami considered him a friend, although he couldn't for the life of him figure out _why_. It wasn't like Kaiba had actively encouraged it, but Yami still thought it all the same. But he was just weird like that, Kaiba decided. Either that, or he liked the abuse, which was a disturbing thought in and of itself.

But first and foremost, Kaiba saw Yami as his number one rival. No one had ever challenged him so completely before and Kaiba doubted that there would ever be anyone else who would do so. He had never wanted to defeat someone so badly, never wanted to fight them all the time, never wanted to dominate someone's attention so much. It was disconcerting, the level of attention that Kaiba paid to Yami. Never before had a single person mattered so much to him who wasn't Mokuba. It wasn't that he cared what Yami thought of him, so long as he acknowledged him as a worthy rival and challenger. It was a position that Kaiba didn't want anyone else to hold and especially not that loser dog, Jounouchi. No, Kaiba wanted to occupy a different level in Yami's life and he would fight as hard as it took to do so.

Yet Kaiba's mind was drawn back to their time during Duelist Kingdom, when they had walked the city streets together and battled together on the same side of the platform. For a time they had been partners and there was no one else that Kaiba would ever trust to do so, save for his brother of course. But that was different; Yami was different and always had been.

Of course things had changed once Yami got his own body. Kaiba had never spent as much time with him as he had during Battle City, but there had been moments. And it wasn't that Kaiba looked forward to those moments, but he didn't dread them, either. It wasn't arduous to be around Yami for extended periods of time, whereas if he had to spend so much as a minute with Jounouchi, he was downright murderous. Everything about the mutt rubbed him the wrong way, whereas Kaiba could actually tolerate being in Yami's presence.

That had changed even more now that he was trapped in a kitten body. It hadn't been hard to be alone around Yami, although it helped that he wasn't really expected to talk. Kaiba was generally a man of few words and he was glad that all that was required of him was an occasional meow or growl to communicate. Although as a cat, his body language gave him away a lot more than when he was a human. It was irritating and also somewhat useful all at the same time.

However, Kaiba didn't find it painful to be in Yami's presence as a kitten. Yami had treated him with dignity for the most part and while Kaiba could do with less petting, he had to admit that it felt good, which was annoying. Sometimes he ached to feel Yami's fingers on his fur and that was a disconcerting feeling that he didn't know what to do about it. Thus, it was just easier not to think about. Otherwise he might do something foolish like wake Yami up and try to convince him to take another shower.

Kaiba begrudgingly had to admit that Yami was more than just a mere rival, but what did that make him? Kaiba wasn't so sure. Perhaps friend was the closest word to what Yami was for him, much as it galled him to admit. That didn't mean that Kaiba would start treating him any differently once he regained his human form, of course. Well, maybe slightly, because Kaiba owed him at least that much. He could do civility without problem. But he just couldn't picture them hanging out after he got off of work like normal friends did. Although it might be fun to get in a duel here and there when the opportunity permitted. Yami _did_ say that they were going to duel once Kaiba got his body back, something that he was very much looking forward to—especially since his life as a cat had been boring so far. It would feel great to have that adrenaline rush of dueling after so long of being trapped in a kitten's body.

He supposed he could even picture them having dinner after a battle together. They could debrief or talk future battles or something along those lines. As long as it didn't turn into that ancient Egyptian bullshit, Kaiba imagined that dinner wouldn't be too painful of an affair with Yami. So maybe he could make an exception and hang out with Yami from time to time, provided his rival behaved himself.

He felt like he had learned a lot about Yami over the course of the past few days, but in some ways, he had become even more of a mystery. The rapid fire shifts in Yami's emotions would never cease to confuse Kaiba. How his rival could go from fine one minute to melancholic the next to being completely at ease was a total puzzle to Kaiba and one that he wasn't sure he felt like solving. Sometimes it was okay to leave things as they were and Kaiba felt like that was one of those things.

Yami stirred in his sleep and drew Kaiba's attention back to him. He looked so at ease while he slept and Kaiba couldn't resist the urge to paw at one of the blonde bangs that was near him on the pillow. It didn't wake up Yami, for which Kaiba was grateful as he made himself stop toying with the hair. The longer he stayed in cat form, the harder it was becoming to control his kitten instincts. It worried Kaiba, but there was nothing he could do about it in his present state.

Without warning Yami's hand came up to rest against his stomach and Kaiba sighed heavily as he was reflexively petted through sleep. It seemed Yami just couldn't get enough of him, not even when he was asleep. Kaiba supposed he could understand since he was pretty sure that if the circumstances were reversed, even he wouldn't be able to resist petting such soft fur. His brother had been right; he was surprisingly soft when it came to such things, but Kaiba couldn't help but feel a kinship to abandoned cats due to his own past.

He knew he was lucky that it had been Yami that had taken him in with his unfortunate circumstance. It really could have been much worse and he wouldn't have put it past Isis to do such a terrible thing as put him out on the street or give him to Jounouchi instead. He still couldn't help but wonder why she had chosen Yami to protect him, though. Was she trying to get him to see the other side of his rival and appreciate him more? It seemed like something she would do. After all, being forced to acknowledge his rival as something more was a big step for Kaiba and one that he wouldn't have voluntarily taken by any means.

Or was she expecting him to come to terms with the ancient Egyptian nonsense? He refused to accept that he had been a priest in a past life with a connection to Yami; it was just too far-fetched to believe. And yet there was something that tugged at his very soul that tried to convince him that there was an element of truth to the tales about the past. It was disconcerting and made Kaiba terribly uncomfortable to think about it.

Pushing the thoughts from him mind, Kaiba returned his attention to Yami, whose hand had stilled in its lazy sleep petting. Kaiba supposed he should be grateful for Yami treating him as well as he had and he wondered what he could possibly do to make it up to him in the future. But that too was a thought for later as Kaiba's eyes grew heavier with sleep and his thoughts started to become fuzzy.

* * *

**A/N:** I know it's a bit of a slow chapter, but there's a reason for it…

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

_The problem was, Kaiba didn't know what he intended to do. _

The next update will go up on **Sunday, August 24th** and trust me, it is one that you do NOT want to miss. It's a very important chapter, so please look forward to it! Until then, I shall enjoy hearing your thoughts through your wonderful reviews.


	11. Chapter 11: And Then the Morning Comes

**Chapter 11: And Then the Morning Comes**

The first thing Kaiba noticed when he woke up was that his world was suddenly in vivid colors. After so many days in a muddy palette, it was a shock to his system to see such brightness again. The next thing he noticed was that he was wrapped around Yami and holding him tightly, which was entirely too comfortable to be okay. Bolting upright in shock, Kaiba stared down at Yami, who was now smaller than him, which was exactly as it should be. His actions woke up Yami, who opened his eyes slowly and then widely when he saw Kaiba back to normal.

Unable to figure out anything appropriate to say, Yami settled for, a casual "Hi."

"_Hi_?" Kaiba repeated in disbelief, his voice sounding dark and rumbly due to disuse.

Yami was very grateful that Kaiba was oblivious to what his voice sounding like that did to him. It made him shift uncomfortably in the bed, hoping that his body wouldn't betray him. "Good morning?" Yami uncertainly tried again.

Glancing over at the clock, Kaiba was shocked to see it was 1.17PM. "Afternoon," he reflexively corrected, unable to help himself.

Grinning at that, Yami said, "You seem to be in an awfully bad mood for someone who woke up in their proper body."

Too much was happening for Kaiba to process, so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "You're _naked_," as his cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"So are you," Yami pointed out with a laugh, causing Kaiba to make a noise of discomfort as he looked down to confirm that Yami was entirely too right. However, there was nothing to cover himself with since he was lying on top of the covers. "What's your point? Besides, you saw me get into bed last night, so I don't know why my nudity is such a surprise to you. Or yours, for that matter. You know your clothes are in a bag over there, so why expect to wake up fully clothed?"

"Why are you so comfortable with this?" Kaiba demanded, finding Yami's calmness disturbing.

"Maybe because this isn't the first time I've thought about being naked in a bed with you?" Yami teased, unable to help himself.

It made Kaiba bluster as he sat up full, looking down at Yami in shock. "_What_?"

"Oh, relax," Yami told him, trying to play of his comment.

"I'm naked in bed with my number one rival and you want me to _relax_?" Kaiba demanded.

"Yes," Yami replied simply, trying to get Kaiba to calm down and see reason. When that failed to gain a reaction from Kaiba, Yami reached up and stroked his brunette hair, which while not as soft as his fur was still a dream to touch so unguardedly.

Slapping the hand away, Kaiba demanded, "What are you doing? I'm not a cat anymore, damn it!"

"And yet you're still just as cute, imagine that," Yami teased, once again causing Kaiba to flush in his indignation.

"I am _not_ cute," Kaiba snapped, finding the label insulting.

"Sure you are," Yami disagreed, "at least to me."

"_What_?" Kaiba demanded, his head spinning from too many revelations at once.

"Or is that too damaging to your male pride or something?" Yami questioned, figuring that was closer to the truth.

"What's your problem?" Kaiba demanded, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

Grinning at that, Yami sat up and Kaiba couldn't help but notice the way the sheets slid dangerously low on Yami's slender hips. "Who says I have a problem?" Yami asked.

"You're in bed—naked—with your rival, and you don't think you have a problem?" Kaiba indignantly demanded.

"You're really hung up on this naked thing, aren't you?" Yami realized with a laugh. "How is this any different than when I was showering you?"

"That was different!" Kaiba protested. "I was a cat!"

"Kitten," Yami impishly corrected with a grin that made Kaiba scowl. "So it's fine for me to be naked around you when you're a kitten, but not when you're a human? What sense does that make?"

"Aren't you embarrassed?" Kaiba asked, although Yami's non-reaction was answer enough on its own.

"About what?" Yami asked, even though he knew the answer to the question. Of course he was slightly embarrassed, especially since he was worried that his body might betray him from being so close to Kaiba's. At least when he got aroused while they were dueling, the high platforms covered up his problem. In bed all he had to rely on were the sheets and those offered little protection.

"You're impossible," Kaiba determined as he irritably ran his fingers through his hair. "Absolutely impossible."

"Would you have me any other way?" Yami asked, a note of seriousness coming through in his tone.

It was enough to make Kaiba pause momentarily, because he really didn't know how to answer the question.

"Besides, if you're so bothered, why don't you just go put your clothes on? You know where they are," Yami challenged with a knowing look in his crimson eyes.

_Because then you win_, Kaiba realized, refusing to grant Yami such a victory.

"Thought so," Yami said with a grin as he shifted positions slightly. It once again drew Kaiba's eyes downward as the sheets shifted and he swallowed hard at the sight it presented him. Of course he had noticed his rival's size when he was trapped in his kitten form, but it hadn't seemed to matter as much then as it did in the present moment.

Arching an eyebrow at Kaiba's reaction, Yami couldn't help but wonder what it meant. "Kaiba?"

"What?" Kaiba icily demanded, feeling embarrassed that he had been caught staring.

"Just wondering what managed to capture your attention," Yami replied, trying and failing to suppress another grin.

"Nothing," Kaiba denied as he looked away, hating himself for having that reaction.

"I didn't say you had to stop looking," Yami told him as he stretched and Kaiba's eyes couldn't help but appreciate the lithe lines of Yami's lean body.

"You're being awfully…forward," Kaiba commented after finally settling on the right word.

"Aren't I always?" Yami asked as he finished stretching.

It was a fair point and one that as Kaiba reflected upon, he realized that it was truer than he'd like to admit.

_It was another humiliating loss and Kaiba clenched his fists in rage as Yami approached him with an arrogant swagger of a victor. "I _will_ defeat you," Kaiba swore, needing it to be true._

"_You're welcome to take me any time you'd like," Yami retorted with a playful wink that made something inside of Kaiba stir._

"_Take you _on_," Kaiba corrected, easily misinterpreting a sexual meaning behind Yami's original phraseology. _

"_Sure," Yami casually said with a lazy grain that did little to diminish the sexy effect, "that's what I meant."_

_This time in school, another test where their grades were tied for the highest. It infuriated Kaiba to have to share the position with Yami and it must have shown on his face. "You can't always be on top," Yami murmured as he started to walk by Kaiba._

"_As if I'll ever be beneath you," Kaiba sneered, the very idea of it ridiculous to him._

"_I wouldn't be so sure about that," Yami said with a confident smile that confused Kaiba._

_On his way out of school, a voice called out to stop him, "Kaiba!"_

_Pausing only out of irritation, Kaiba turned to face Yami as he asked, "What?"_

_Coming closer, a little _too_ close, Yami neared and questioned, "What are you doing later?"_

"_Since when do you care?" Kaiba sneered, finding the question ridiculous._

"_Maybe I'm _very_ interested," Yami hinted, narrowing the space between them until they were almost chest to chest. _

"_In what?" Kaiba wanted to know, finding it strange._

"_I wonder?" Yami murmured as he looked up at Kaiba through lidded eyes that blazed with something that Kaiba couldn't identify._

"_Don't waste my time," Kaiba snarled, not amused by Yami's latest game._

"_Who said I wanted to waste your time?" Yami asked with a laugh. "Maybe I'll make it worth your while."_

"_Make what worth my while?" Kaiba demanded, losing track of the conversation. _

_Smiling mysteriously, it made something inside Kaiba flutter nervously in response. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Yami asked in a lofty voice. _

"_I asked, didn't I?" Kaiba snapped. _

"_But somehow I don't think you'd like the answer," Yami teased, further incensing Kaiba._

"_What's that supposed to mean?" Kaiba wanted to know._

"_Would you like to find out?" Yami invited him, licking his lips in anticipation. _

_Some small part of Kaiba was tempted to agree, to find out what Yami was implying, but that warning bell went off in his mind and he took a step back from that edge, took a step away from Yami, as he said, "I'm not interested."_

"_I don't believe you," Yami told him with a knowing look._

"_Excuse me?" Kaiba asked with a raised eyebrow. _

"_Such a pity," Yami said with a sigh, confusing Kaiba. _

"_Pity?" Kaiba repeated, finding it an odd word choice._

_With a cryptic smile, Yami took a step back and Kaiba found it suddenly easier to breathe. "Indeed," Yami murmured with a look that promised something Kaiba couldn't quite decipher. _

"_What do you mean?" Kaiba demanded to know._

"_You'll figure it out some day," Yami promised._

"_Just tell me!" Kaiba exclaimed, tired of the game with rules he couldn't quite figure out for some reason._

"_I thought you weren't interested," Yami countered, smirking as if he had just played a successful trap card. _

"_I'm not interested in playing your game," Kaiba replied. "That's different."_

_Laughing, Yami said, "And here I thought you liked playing games."_

"_Not like this," Kaiba clarified. "What are you interested in?"_

"_If I said, 'You,' what would you do?" Yami wanted to know._

"_What?" Kaiba asked in confusion, missing the leap in logic. _

_Laughing as he turned away, Yami predicted, "Like I said, you'll figure it out some day." _

"_Whatever, I don't have time for this shit," Kaiba growled before he turned to walk away, wondering why he had wasted so much time with such a pointless conversation._

It was enough to make Kaiba ask in the present, "Why?"

"Why, what?" Yami wanted to know, having no idea what Kaiba had thought about in his moments of silence.

"Why are you so forward?"

Leaning back and bracing himself on his hands, Kaiba's eyes once again betrayed him by straying toward where the sheets perilously bunched at his hips before returning to meet Yami's gaze. "It's just the kind of person that I am," Yami replied, figuring it was a simple enough answer.

"And yet why do I feel like you're hiding something?" Kaiba wanted to know, furrowing his eyebrows as he started to remember further incidents between them over the years.

"Maybe I am," Yami teased, although his heart was pounding at the possibility of his crush being discovered and what that might mean for him. On the other hand, it was exhilarating to know that his time of hiding his interest might be coming to an end and quickly at that.

"Why can't you just answer clearly for once?" Kaiba complained.

"I'm not the one over complicating it," Yami retorted, knowing that it was mostly Kaiba who complicated things.

The question of was Yami interested in him was on the tip of his tongue, but Kaiba couldn't bring himself to ask it so point blank, mostly because he wasn't sure if he'd like the answer. Instead he chose to ask the less incriminating question, "Why did you take such good care of me?"

"Because like it or not, I consider you to be a good friend," Yami replied easily, even though he knew the answer would displease Kaiba.

"Is that why you have a picture of me on your desk?" Kaiba demanded, relieved he could finally vocalize a question that had been bothering him since he was trapped in a kitten form.

"Noticed that, did you?" Yami asked with a wry grin. "Is it a problem?"

Furrowing his eyebrows, Kaiba realized that Yami had just dodged his original question. "What is a problem is you're not answering my real question," Kaiba told him, not sure why he was being so persistent on the issue.

"Yes, I have that picture there because I consider us friends," Yami clearly answered, but Kaiba still wasn't satisfied.

"And that's the only reason?"

"What other reason is there?" Yami challenged, causing Kaiba to open his mouth before closing it again.

"Because you like me," Kaiba answered, even though it embarrassed him to put it out there so boldly. He wasn't one to talk about feelings, especially of that variety.

Yami easily answered, "Of course I like you," startling Kaiba until he realized Yami was misunderstanding him—although whether that was deliberate or not was up for debate.

"Not like that," Kaiba insisted.

"Then like how?" Yami challenged, enjoying watching Kaiba squirm uncomfortably at the direction the conversation had taken.

Narrowing his eyes at Yami, Kaiba told him, "You know exactly what I mean."

"Maybe I just want to hear you say it," Yami said, causing Kaiba to scowl.

"Romantically," Kaiba finally spat the word out as if it were the foulest word imaginable.

"You say that like it's such a bad thing," Yami commented, rather than answering.

Furrowing his eyebrow at the non-answer, Kaiba growled in annoyance and was caught off guard when it made Yami laugh. "Like I said, you growled just as much as a kitten as you do when you're human," Yami explained, still amused by the fact. When Kaiba said nothing, Yami continued, "I wonder if that means I can get you to purr as a human…?"

Kaiba's eyes went wide at the comment, which was almost enough to distract him from his point. But he would not give up so easily! And yet, he still found himself asking, "And how would you propose to do that?"

"Are you inviting me to try?" Yami murmured, once again looking up at Kaiba with eyes that were filled with a complicated mix of emotions that stirred something inside of the brunette.

"Of course not!" Kaiba snapped, annoyed when all it did was make Yami laugh in response.

"Such a pity," Yami murmured as he impishly ran his fingers under Kaiba's chin and stroked it as if he were still a kitten. "I would have enjoyed trying."

Eyes going wide once more at the blatant comment and look of want in Yami's eyes, Kaiba demanded to know, "What are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything," Yami innocently denied.

"Bullshit," Kaiba said as he refused to accept the answer.

Shrugging at that, Yami told him, "Believe what you want. You always do anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaiba questioned, not liking how Yami was constantly throwing him off of his guard.

"Exactly what I said," Yami told him. "Not everything is a hidden clue."

"That means some of what you say _is_ a hidden clue," Kaiba triumphantly pointed out, enjoying being contradictory.

Although they were getting closer to the real issue than Yami liked, he trusted in Kaiba's natural denseness to protect him from discovery. "But a clue to what?" Yami asked, assuming that Kaiba wouldn't figure it out so easily.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Kaiba stated, feeling closer to an answer and yet further away from it all the same.

"And?" Yami prompted.

"And you never answered my question," Kaiba said, annoyed by that fact.

Grinning at that, Yami pointed out, "You'll have to be more specific than that. You've asked a lot of questions."

Taking a deep breath, Kaiba forced himself to ask, "Do you like me romantically?"

"Ooh, and he comes right out and asks," Yami teased, shocked at the gumption it took to do so.

"Answer," Kaiba coldly commanded, hoping his cheeks weren't as heated as they felt over asking such a thing so clearly.

"If I said, 'Yes,' what would you do?" Yami challenged, once again looking up at Kaiba with an expression he couldn't quite interpret. When Kaiba failed to respond immediately, it led Yami to continue to the natural counterpoint. "And if I said, 'No,' what would you do then?"

"I don't know," Kaiba truthfully answered both questions and annoyed by his own reaction. "So which is it?"

"Which do you think?" Yami playfully asked, trying to buy as much time as possible before he had to confess the truth—because he refused to lie to his rival.

"Like I know what goes on in that head of yours?" Kaiba scoffed, finding Yami's mind a confusing mess.

"Surely you must have _some_ idea," Yami pointed out, wondering if maybe Kaiba was denser than he had previously thought.

"If I say, 'Yes,' you're going to think I'm egotistical," Kaiba started to state, causing Yami to laugh.

"I _know_ you're egotistical, regardless of your answer," Yami pointed out with a laugh.

"You know what I mean," Kaiba snarled, less than amused by Yami's refusal to give him a straight answer.

"Why can't we just leave it at I like you?" Yami questioned, figuring that was easier.

"Because that's…unsatisfying," Kaiba finally answered, although the word was distasteful to him.

"Does it change anything if I feel one way or the other about you?" Yami wisely asked.

"Of course it does!" Kaiba insisted, knowing that it would change everything if he discovered that his number one rival liked him romantically.

"How?" Yami wanted to know, still feeling on the edge of something dangerous and wondering if he could step back from the brink without injury to either of them.

Furrowing his eyebrows at the way Yami was dancing around his questions, Kaiba told him, "It just does."

"Positively or negatively?" Yami continued questioning.

"What difference does that make to you?" Kaiba asked in exasperation.

"Because I don't want to lose our friendship," Yami argued.

Rolling his eyes at that, Kaiba insisted, "There never _was_ a friendship, never _will _be a friendship."

"I don't believe you," Yami countered. "Besides, we got along wonderfully when you were a kitten."

"Only because I didn't have any choice in the matter!" Kaiba growled, not liking the implication. "And why were you always petting me, bastard?"

"Because you were a cute kitten," Yami answered reasonably. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"Keep your hands to yourself!" Kaiba snapped, still bristling over the fact and grateful he didn't have fur anymore to give away his reaction.

"And if I said I didn't want to?" Yami asked as he daringly let one of his hands transverse along Kaiba's bare chest.

Shivering at the contact before knocking away the offending hand, Kaiba demanded, "What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What I want," Yami replied, figuring that was clue enough for Kaiba.

"What _you_ want?" Kaiba repeated in indignation. "What about what _I_ want?"

"What _do_ you want?" Yami prompted, eager to move on before he revealed more than he was ready to. Still, he just couldn't help himself when it came to the flirtation that he always toed the line dangerously close to throughout their shared history.

"I want you to stop being so weird about everything," Kaiba immediately answered.

"And wanting to do this," Yami said as he lightly trailed his fingers along Kaiba's upper thigh, "is weird to you?"

"Yes," Kaiba primly replied, even though he shivered again at the contact and felt something foreign inside of him start to ache.

"Why?" Yami wanted to know as he moved his hand away from the all too tempting flesh.

"It's not natural," Kaiba answered, wishing Yami would just accept the answer and move on to other things.

Arching an eyebrow at the reasoning, Yami asked, "What's unnatural about it?"

"We're two guys," Kaiba protested, although somehow he got the impression that facts such as that mattered little to Yami.

"And if I was a girl?" Yami asked, watching Kaiba's response carefully.

"It would still be weird," Kaiba finally decided, although it took him a moment to do so.

Failing to see what Kaiba was objecting to so avidly, Yami wanted to know, "What's weird about it?"

"People don't _like_ me," Kaiba told him, finding it ridiculous that such a thing needed outlined. He was well known for his reputation of being unlikable and proud that it kept away people who would otherwise express an inappropriate interest in him.

"Then I must not be people," Yami countered with a grin that did funny things to Kaiba's heart.

"So you're saying you like me," Kaiba stated, tired of trying to get Yami to state it clearly.

"I already told you that I did," Yami pointed out with another grin.

"You didn't tell me how," Kaiba argued, still frustrated by that fact.

"What if I showed you?" Yami offered, finding it too tempting an invitation to resist.

Feeling as if he were walking into a trap, Kaiba still found himself asking, "And how would you propose to do that?"

Rather than answering with words, Yami leaned closer to Kaiba and kissed him gently on the lips, pleased when he didn't immediately pull away. It encouraged Yami to bring his hand up and entangle it in that tempting brunette hair as he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He was surprised to find Kaiba so responsive and was even more so when he tried to dominate the kiss. It caused him to moan into it softly as he started to lower himself back onto the bed, taking Kaiba down with him.

When they parted for breath, Kaiba braced himself on the bed with a hand as he looked down critically at Yami and tried to catch his breath. "So that's a, 'Yes,' then," Kaiba finally decided.

"Indeed," Yami confirmed with a shy smile that made Kaiba want to do things he didn't understand. "And apparently you aren't as opposed as I thought."

"I don't know what I am," Kaiba replied, still finding his own reaction confusing.

"Then allow me to clarify," Yami murmured as he leaned up for another kiss that was devastatingly perfect as they moved against each other. It made him regret the sheet between them that was preventing him from feeling Kaiba's body closely against his. Instead he let his free hand wander along the broad expanse of Kaiba's back, loving the feel of him under his fingertips.

Kaiba could feel the first stirrings of desire and it startled him into stopping, pulling back to look down at Yami in confusion. "Don't over think it," Yami encouraged as his fingers continued lazily tracing over Kaiba's skin and sending chills through the teen.

"Why are you still petting me?" Kaiba growled in annoyance, although it was more at his body's reaction to it than the actual act itself.

"Because I've always wanted to touch you like this and never thought I'd be allowed to," Yami truthfully replied. "Does it bother you?"

Kaiba would never admit that such a trivial thing bothered him, so he said nothing on the subject instead. "What are we doing?" Kaiba quietly asked as he pulled up some to put some distance between them.

"Taking the next natural step of progression in our relationship," Yami replied, hoping it was the right answer.

"We don't _have _a relationship," Kaiba contradicted him, annoyed that Yami was trying to make them seem more than they were.

"Not like that," Yami agreed, before impishly adding, "yet. But we could."

"Why would you want that?" Kaiba wanted to know, still failing to understand Yami's motivations.

Once again stroking that soft brunette hair he had always dreamed about touching, Yami answered, "Because I want you."

"But _why_?" Kaiba questioned, still not wrapping his head around the concept.

"Because you're you," Yami told him. "What other reason do I need?"

"One that makes sense?" Kaiba sarcastically suggested. "And stop petting me!"

"Okay, okay," Yami agreed as he withdrew his hand and let it drift down to rest on Kaiba's shoulder. "I'm sorry that it bothers you so much."

"It's not that it _bothers_ me exactly," Kaiba protested, "it's just…weird."

"I'm starting to think you think everything is weird," Yami said with a laugh.

"When it comes to you, things generally _are_ weird," Kaiba defended himself, knowing that his life had become much stranger since Yami entered it.

"Is that a problem?" Yami asked, hoping that the answer wasn't negative.

Shrugging and still very much aware of the hand resting on his shoulder, Kaiba muttered, "Of course it's a problem."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Yami asked, doing his best to keep the challenge out of his voice.

The problem was, Kaiba didn't know what he intended to do. Part of him wanted to walk out of the room and pretend that the last few days had never happened, but the more honorable part of him knew that he owed Yami for taking such good care of him while he was otherwise incapacitated by his kitten form. But that had nothing to do with being naked and pressed close to him, kissing him, and acting out on the strange impulses he was currently resisting. Why should he want to kiss his rival again? And why would he want to taste him, to see if it was any different than when he was a kitten? It was strange, downright horrifying, and a whole litany of other things that mortified Kaiba into stillness.

"Kaiba?" Yami prompted when he had been silent a little too long for comfort.

"What do you want from me?" Kaiba finally forced himself to ask, hoping that he'd get a straight answer for once.

"Your happiness," Yami easily answered, although it caused Kaiba to make a scoffing noise. "I'm serious!"

"And you think you're the key to my happiness?" Kaiba skeptically asked, doubting that point very much.

Smiling up at Kaiba, Yami told him, "I'd like to be."

"_Why_?" Kaiba pressed, still failing to understand Yami's emotions toward him.

Bringing his hand over to cup Kaiba's cheek, Yami couldn't resist stroking it gently as he answered, "Because for whatever the reason, my heart chose you."

"That's the most ridiculous thing you've said yet," Kaiba complained, although he accidentally leaned into the caress without realizing it.

"That doesn't make it any less true," Yami pointed out as he let his hand fall to the bed. "The real question is what are you going to do about it? I've laid all my cards out on the table. It's up to you whether or not you accept it."

It was a valid point; all the power was in Kaiba's hands now. It made him shift into a sitting position as he looked down at Yami carefully, easily seeing that hint of nervousness in those crimson eyes when he sat back away from him. "I don't know," Kaiba finally told him softly. "Too much has happened and—"

"I don't mind waiting," Yami interjected. "I know you have a lot to process."

"That's an understatement," Kaiba muttered, irritably running his fingers through his hair.

"So take the time you need. I'm not trying to rush you into a decision," Yami encouraged him, hoping that it would be to his advantage. "I do have a question, though."

"What?"

"Why did you return to human form?" Yami asked, finding it curious that he had woken up to Kaiba in his normal body without warning.

Shrugging, Kaiba claimed, "I really don't know."

"Seriously?"" Yami questioned in disbelief. "You must have _some_ clue."

Doing his best to try and remember what had happened, Kaiba felt his cheeks flush as he remembered his thoughts about Yami before drifting off to sleep. Rather than confessing the total truth, Kaiba offered, "I think it's because I finally accepted something."

"And that something would be…?" Yami wanted to know.

Even though he was under no obligation to answer, Kaiba still felt that he owed Yami at least that much. "That I see you as more than just a rival," Kaiba mumbled, hoping his cheeks weren't as flushed as they felt over the admission.

Smiling broadly at the confession, Yami asked in a hopefully voice, "Really?"

"It doesn't mean I like you like _that_," Kaiba warned, needing Yami to understand that.

"It doesn't necessarily preclude it, either," Yami realized with another grin.

When Kaiba said nothing further, Yami sat up to face him properly. It made Kaiba say, "I'm not making a decision right now."

"And that's fine," Yami reassured him, "so long as you make one eventually. Just because I'm good at waiting, doesn't mean I like it."

It was an odd comment, but Kaiba said nothing about it. Instead he got off the bed and stood up, heading over to where his bag of clothes were and started to put them on, feeling more like himself with each article of clothing he wore.

Yami blatantly watched and it made Kaiba feel self-conscious, but he didn't let it slow his actions. What did cause him to stumble was when Yami got out of bed and walked confidently over to his closet; Kaiba's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to his lithe form. It was true that Yami wasn't displeasing to the eye, but it was weird for Kaiba to think of him in such a manner. He was more subtle in his observation of Yami getting dressed, but no less curious than the former pharaoh had been about him.

When Yami finished dressing, he approached Kaiba who subtly looked away to avoid being caught watching. It wasn't subtle enough because Yami commented with a grin, "I don't mind you looking. In fact, I encourage it."

"As if I would do such a thing," Kaiba said with a disdainful sniff, hating that he had been caught.

"Oh, of course not," Yami facetiously said, "never _the_ Kaiba Seto."

"Precisely," Kaiba agreed, although they both knew it to be untrue. Pocketing his cell phone and wallet, Kaiba double checked the bag to make sure none of his other personal belongings were in it.

Coming to stand right in front of him, Yami felt like there was more that needed to be said, but he wasn't sure if Kaiba would be willing to listen or not. Now that he had on his normal attire, it felt like a barrier had been built between them that was impossible to overcome. Still, Yami didn't let it discourage him from bracing one hand on Kaiba's chest as he went up on tiptoe to steal what could be one final kiss. Against his wishes, Kaiba's hands sought out the sides of Yami's face as he deepened the kiss, drowning in the experience of being with his rival. Yami accidentally moaned into the kiss, the feeling too exquisite to be contained.

When they parted, they both were slightly breathless and Kaiba self-consciously moved his hands away from Yami's face to drop limply at his sides. Yami took a step back and said, "I guess I'll see you later," because he knew that there was nothing he could do to keep Kaiba with him another minute longer now that he was human.

"Bye," Kaiba mumbled, eager to leave and yet feeling like he should stay.

With that, Kaiba turned to leave and Yami had to hold back a smile when Kaiba added over his shoulder, "And….thanks."

"You're welcome," Yami warmly told him before following him down the stairs to lead him out of the house.

When Kaiba entered the living room, he was startled to find his brother on the couch. "Nii-sama!" Mokuba happily exclaimed as he ran over to his brother and threw his arms around him in a tight hug.

"Mokuba," Kaiba said with great fondness in his voice as he returned the hug in a way he normally wouldn't have done with witnesses present. But it felt like it had been ages since he had seen his younger brother and he had missed him. Inhaling deeply, Kaiba noticed the faintest trace of his brother's scent that he had noticed when he was a kitten and he basked in the feeling of closeness that was so different than what he had just experienced upstairs in Yami's room.

"What are you doing here?" Mokuba asked in confusion as he pulled away just enough to look up at his brother.

"I thought you might be here, so I wanted to surprise you," Kaiba lied, feeling terrible about it but knowing he had to cover his appearance somehow.

"So you waited upstairs for an hour?" Mokuba questioned, finding it strange.

"We were talking about our rematch and lost track of time," Yami smoothly answered for Kaiba, earning him an appreciative look over Mokuba's head. "It's my fault, Mokuba."

"It's cool," Mokuba reassured them both before looking back up at his brother. "So when are you going to duel Yami again? Can I watch?"

"Of course you can," Kaiba told him, although he didn't have an answer as to when they could duel. He knew he'd be horribly behind in work after missing so many days and it would probably be weeks before he had enough free time to even think about dueling.

The answer pleased Mokuba and he exclaimed, "Awesome!"

"It will be," Yami promised, knowing that their battles always were.

Smiling broadly at Yami, Mokuba was pleased to see that he was getting along so well with his older brother. Not many people had the patience to try and get close to Kaiba and Mokuba was grateful that Yami was willing to try, even though they were rivals.

"Do we have to go home right now?" Mokuba asked with a hint of disappointment in his tone. "Yuugi and I were getting ready for a rematch of our own."

It was only then that Kaiba noticed the fighting game paused on the TV and he didn't have the heart to deny his brother anything. "Of course not," Kaiba told him, grateful that Jounouchi wasn't there to make it a hard decision. "You can stay as long as you like."

"You're the best, nii-sama!" Mokuba told his older brother with another tight hug before he bounded back over to the couch to sit next to Yuugi.

That left a love seat for Kaiba to share with Yami and he tried not to over think it as they both sat down to watch the rest of the fight. They were close enough to be touching and Yami subtly rested his leg against Kaiba's once the two friends had resumed playing their game together. Kaiba was overly aware of the point of connection between himself and Yami, but he did nothing to move away from it. He was surprised as his own reaction of draping his arm around the back of the couch to let his hand rest of Yami's shoulder, adding another point between them; somehow it just felt right.

Kaiba caught himself subtly looking over at Yami several times throughout the battle, his head still spinning from trying to figure everything out that had happened upstairs between them. It had felt good—a little _too_ good—to kiss Yami and he felt that ache again for something more, although he wasn't sure what to do about it. But he felt a hollowness inside, a space that only Yami seemed to fill, and Kaiba didn't know what to do about it. It wasn't like he could just _be_ with Yami, right?

Kaiba tried looking at the problem from another angle. He thought about if Yami was a girl, would he be having the same problem. His overactive imagination could easily picture a feminized version of Yami, with curves in all the right places, pert breasts, and an easy smile that made something inside of Kaiba flutter. He pictured himself kissing her, letting his hands run along the curves of her breasts before trailing under her skirt to cup her firm ass as they ground against each other in search of more feeling. But still, the image morphed and Yami returned to normal, naked once more, and writhing against him in need and want. It didn't diminish his enjoyment any, which was a startling revelation. He had never devoted much time to his sexuality and he was starting to wonder if maybe that was a mistake. Maybe if he was more in tune with himself and his desires, now wouldn't be such a mystery.

He thought that maybe if he tried picturing himself with someone else, the result would be different. Kaiba tried picturing other women, but they did nothing to stir him, nor did picturing other men. They all lacked that passion that Yami managed to inspire in him, that little tremor inside of him whenever he drew near to Kaiba. What was it about his rival that intrigued him so? And did that intrigue really translate into something more? Kaiba wasn't so sure.

Such confusing thoughts were enough to make Kaiba withdraw his arm and cross them both over his chest as he continued pondering out the mystery that was Yami in his life. It made Yami glance over at Kaiba, already missing the small contact, but knowing better than to draw any attention to it. At that precise moment, Kaiba also looked over at Yami and caught his gaze, which only served to confuse him further as he felt a heat flush through his system and flood him with desire—although to do what precisely was a mystery to him.

The moment was broken when Yami's gaze returned to the television, but Kaiba was still left with an uncomfortable feeling under his skin. Clearly there was still a lot to reflect on and Kaiba wondered if he'd ever come to an acceptable conclusion on the matter.

It felt like all too soon and an eternity at the same time when Mokuba announced, "We should probably be heading back. I'm sure nii-sama is tired from jetlag and wants to get home."

"Only if you're ready," Kaiba told him, not wanting to interrupt his brother's fun.

"Since I just won, I think it's as good a place to leave on as any," Mokuba joked, causing everyone to laugh.

"Fair enough," Kaiba decided as he stood up while Mokuba started to gather his things while Yuugi put away the controllers to the system. Yami remained motionless on the couch, but Kaiba refused to let his eyes look toward him like they wanted.

"We'll see you later," Mokuba promised with a wave as he started to head for the exit with Kaiba right behind him.

The sentiment was echoed by Yuugi and Yami both as the two Kaiba brothers headed out to where Isono was waiting with a car for them. It made Kaiba grateful because he really didn't feel like driving in such a distracted state and he was grateful for his brother's foresight to call Isono.

"What's wrong?" Mokuba asked, picking up on the shift in his older brother's mood.

"Nothing, just thinking about work," Kaiba lied, figuring it was believable enough and feeling guilty all the same for it since he hated lying to his little brother.

"Is the new project in America not going well?" Mokuba inquired.

Waving it away as they got into the car, Kaiba told him, "Don't worry about it. So how have you been?"

As Mokuba started answering the question with a great level of detail, Kaiba did his best to pay rapt attention to him instead of letting his mind drift to Yami. It was harder than he would have thought, but he did an admiral job of pretending for the time that Yami didn't matter to him in that moment.

* * *

**A/N: **To say that this version of Kaiba is dense is an epic understatement, to put it mildly. Expect that fact to come into play in later chapters…

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

_But could he really tell him the truth? _

The next chapter will be posted on **Sunday, August 31st**, but until then, I look forward to hearing your reactions on Kaiba finally returning to normal!


	12. Chapter 12: Playing Catch Up

**Chapter 12: Playing Catch Up**

They had been back at the house for less than an hour, but Kaiba was still stewing on his problem. Sometimes Kaiba thought he could feel his tail flicking in agitation, despite being back in his human form. It was a disconcerting feeling and one that led him to feel even more irritable than he already was, which was saying something. It was gnawing at him that he had lied to his brother, especially because his brother was trying so hard to seem okay with Kaiba having abandoned all of his normal forms of communication while he was away. He never failed to call in and check on Mokuba daily when he was overseas and Kaiba swore he could see the question in his younger brother's eyes. But could he really tell him the truth?

Decision made, Kaiba went to Mokuba's room and knocked on his open door, waiting until his brother granted him permission to enter before doing so and sitting on the edge of his bed. Waiting until Mokuba sat down next to him, Kaiba tried to figure out how to start. Unaccustomed to how to approach the conversation, Kaiba started off with, "We need to talk," and tried not to wince at how terrible it sounded.

"Am I in trouble?" Mokuba asked in a worried tone, although he couldn't think of anything he had done to be so.

"Why would you be in trouble?" Kaiba wanted to know, finding it a strange assumption.

"I don't know," Mokuba said with a shrug as he tried to figure out what was going on with his older brother.

"I guess it's more I need to tell you something rather than talk," Kaiba rephrased his original statement, knowing that most of the talking had to be done on his end, much as that was repugnant to him.

Instantly looking worried, Mokuba asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Why do you keep assuming the worst?" Kaiba wanted to know, finding it a strange new habit. "I thought hanging out with the Yuugi-tachi was supposed to make you an eternal optimist or something."

Laughing at that, Mokuba agreed, "Something like that. But seriously, does this have anything to do with the trip to America?"

"It does," Kaiba confirmed, "in a manner of speaking."

"I don't follow," Mokuba said, confused by the latter part of Kaiba's statement.

"I….I wasn't in America," Kaiba forced himself to say, knowing that it was important to be honest with his brother, even if it meant he never trusted him again.

Furrowing his brow in confusion, Mokuba asked, "Why not?"

"Because I was here," Kaiba answered, although that only served to cause the crease in Mokuba's brow to deepen.

"Then why would you tell me you were in America? And why did you never contact me?" Mokuba questioned, not understanding what had happened.

"To answer your first question, it was because I felt I couldn't tell you the truth at the time," Kaiba started to reply, holding up his hand when his brother started to interrupt. "To answer your other question, it was because I couldn't."

"But you sent me the email telling me you were in America," Mokuba said without understanding, trying to make sense of what his brother was trying to explain.

"I had that sent to you from my phone, but anything beyond that was…complicated," Kaiba said after trying to settle on the right word.

"Complicated how?" Mokuba questioned, finding it strange. "And who sent it to me if you didn't? Isono?"

Holding back a sigh at how difficult the conversation was, Kaiba replied, "No, it wasn't Isono. It was Yami."

"_Yami_? But that doesn't make any sense!" Mokuba exclaimed, the facts not lining up right for him. "How did he get access to your phone and why would he send me that email?"

"Because I requested that he do so," Kaiba answered, although it was hardly a satisfactory response.

"Why?"

"I was…indisposed at the time," Kaiba explained, even though it wasn't much of an explanation. "It was the only viable option at the time."

"Nii-sama, you're not making any sense. What happened?"

Forcing himself to take a steadying breath, Kaiba could only hope that his brother wouldn't respond too badly to the truth. "I wasn't myself," Kaiba started to explain, but Mokuba cut him off quickly with another question.

"What does _that_ mean? And what does it have to do with Yami?" Mokuba wanted to know, trying to connect the pieces of the puzzle together. "He didn't say anything about this when I was at his house the other day."

"That's because I asked him not to," Kaiba told him brother, feeling the need to put Yami in the clear with his brother as a result of helping him out in a bad situation. "You shouldn't blame him for not saying anything."

"About what?" Mokuba asked, getting frustrated with his brother awkwardly dodging the real subject.

"My situation," Kaiba replied, coming closer to the truth of the matter. "Yami was helping me—"

Interrupting his brother, Mokuba impatiently asked, "With what?"

"There was an…accident, I guess you could call it," Kaiba tried to explain, wanting to answer his brother's question and yet finding it hard to talk about all at the same time.

"An accident? Were you okay? Are you okay?" Mokuba nervously asked, although he still couldn't connect Yami to the problem yet.

"I'm fine now," Kaiba reassured his brother, feeling bad for worrying him.. "But at the time, I…wasn't. Well, I wasn't hurt, but I wasn't okay, either."

"What does that mean?" Mokuba asked, still feeling worried for his older brother.

"I…I had a run in with Isis," Kaiba replied, getting closer to the real story and feeling all the more nervous for it. He wouldn't blame his brother for not believing the truth; hell, he wouldn't believe it if someone told him and he had lived it! "She used her powers to punish me."

"Punish you? For what? And how did she use her powers against you?" Mokuba asked rapid fire.

"Apparently she didn't like my attitude," Kaiba dryly replied, having more than gotten the hint over the course of his punishment. "As to how she used her powers against me, she enchanted me into a different form."

"She can do that?" Mokuba asked in confusion, having had no clue that she was that powerful. "And what did she turn you into?"

"A kitten," Kaiba finally answered after taking a moment to compose himself.

The dots were starting to connect for Mokuba, but he still couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Wait, you're saying that tiny little white kitten Yami was looking after for Isis was _you_?" Mokuba asked in disbelief.

Nodding miserably, Kaiba confirmed, "Yeah, that was me."

"But how did…? Why did…? How did you…? And Yami…?" Mokuba kept trying to ask, but his words were failing him when he needed them most.

"Yami agreed to take care of me until I returned to normal," Kaiba told him, blatantly ignoring all the reasons why Yami had done so. Especially the ones that involved them naked together in the same bed while they—no, that thought had to stop right there and then. It startled Kaiba, but he did his best not to let it show and worry his younger brother even more. "I am…grateful. But I didn't want you to know the truth and worry."

"I was worried anyway," Mokuba pointed out, smiling sadly at the flaw in his brother's logic. "You're never too busy to call me and I was worried about you."

Looking down at his hands as he clenched them into fists, Kaiba tried to explain himself, "I just didn't want you to see me like that."

"I saw you anyway," Mokuba once again reasoned against his brother's flawed logic.

"But you didn't realize I was so powerless," Kaiba growled in his frustration, never wanting to look weak in front of his younger brother who had always looked up to him.

"Nii-sama," Mokuba said as he forced his brother to look up at him once more, "the fact that you're back to normal shows me how powerful you really are."

It was comforting to hear, but he still felt ridiculous weak to have been caught in such a situation. "Still," Kaiba insisted, needing his brother to understand, "I shouldn't have lied to you—well, had Yami lie to you—and for that I'm sorry. I just didn't see any other way when I was in that position—"

Interrupting his older brother, Mokuba reassured him, "It's okay, nii-sama. I get why you didn't want me to see you like that."

"You do?" Kaiba asked with a hint of hopefulness in his eyes.

"I don't think a younger brother is supposed to find his older brother adorable," Mokuba teased with a laugh. "I guess I should apologize for rubbing my face all over your fur, huh?"

"I didn't mind," Kaiba told him and hoped his cheeks didn't look as heated as they felt. "I was just glad to see that you were okay with my own eyes."

"You _were_ cute," Mokuba said with a laugh and Kaiba knew his ears would have been flattened back if he were still a kitten.

"So Yami kept insisting," Kaiba muttered, although he felt a weird feeling in his stomach when he realized that the former pharaoh still harbored that thought about his human body, too.

Laughing again at the very idea of it, Mokuba commented, "I'm shocked you don't want to kill him for what he must have done to you when you were like that."

"He was….good to me," Kaiba hesitantly said, even though it cost him dearly to admit to it out loud. "He knew it was me and he treated me with respect and dignity…for the most part."

"You mean up until he remembered you were a kitten and had to pet you?" Mokuba guessed, having seen enough of their interactions that day to assume such a thing.

Nodding, Kaiba confirmed, "Precisely. It was annoying."

"You seemed to enjoy it," Mokuba teased and once again Kaiba felt the heat return to his cheeks. "He even got you to purr."

"I was at an unfair disadvantage," Kaiba insisted, less than amused that his brother had figured out such a thing. "I—"

Waving it away, Mokuba told him, "Relax, I'm only kidding. So what was it like being a kitten?"

"Boring," Kaiba immediately answered, having spent a great deal of time in that state of mind. "And gross."

Mokuba couldn't help but laugh at the thought of his clean freak brother being trapped in a kitten form. "I can't imagine you taking a kitten bath."

"That's because I didn't," Kaiba said, ignoring the few times he had accidentally caught himself licking his paw and running it over his face.

"How did you manage to avoid that?" Mokuba wanted to know, finding it hard to believe that a kitten could resist such a thing.

Averting his eyes, Kaiba muttered, "I made him give me human baths."

Snickering at that, Mokuba could only imagine the scene. "I thought kittens hated water," Mokuba pointed out, finding it odd that Kaiba could overcome such an aversion and yet not at all.

"I'm _human_," Kaiba insisted, "so why would I hate water?"

"I just wasn't sure how much of your instincts were human and how much were kitten when you were in that form," Mokuba said with a shrug before grinning. "You know, seeing as you licked me and all."

Holding his head in his hands, Kaiba groaned, "I'm never going to live this down, am I?"

"You'll be fine," Mokuba promised, "as long as none of those kitty instincts crossed over when you returned to your human form."

"Haha," Kaiba replied without humor as he looked up once more.

"I'm glad you're okay," Mokuba said, turning serious. "How did you return to your human form, anyway?"

"The enchantment wore off," Kaiba explained, figuring it was close enough to the truth that he didn't need to feel bad about the answer.

"So _that's_ why you came down from Yami's room," Mokuba realized, connecting further pieces of the puzzle together.

Nodding in confirmation, Kaiba replied, "It had just happened," and tried not to think about everything else that had just happened.

"I'm glad you're back to normal," Mokuba warmly said as he leaned over and hugged his older brother. He smiled when his brother returned the hug and nestled into the embrace. "I just wish you hadn't felt the need to hide it from me."

"I know, I'm sorry," Kaiba apologized, still feeling terrible about it.

"I mean, I only got to see you once," Mokuba continued in a light tone, alerting Kaiba to the fact that he was more disappointed about that fact. "I could have played with kitten you more if I had known."

The image of his brother dangling string in front of him and Kaiba pouncing on it was quick to come to mind and he shook his head to clear himself of the image as Mokuba sat back down on the bed. "I didn't like being trapped in that form," Kaiba insisted.

"Who knew you made such a cute kitten?" Mokuba teased with a laugh, finding it hard to believe that his older brother had been reduced to such a tiny size. "Shouldn't you have been a big cat or something?"

"I assume she was adding insult to injury," Kaiba told him, knowing it was just the type of thing that Isis would do.

"Man, remind me not to piss her off," Mokuba said with another laugh. "She'll probably turn me into a puppy or something. Oh man, she could have turned _you_ into a puppy!"

"Being a cat was the…preferred alternative," Kaiba admitted, even though he hated doing so.

"I can imagine," Mokuba commented, seeing a whole list of reasons why being a cat was better than being a dog for his older brother. "Still, it's lucky that Yami agreed to take care of you."

Finding it an odd statement, Kaiba asked, "What makes you say that?"

Shrugging, Mokuba hesitantly replied, "Because you're actually friends?"

"You think we're friends?" Kaiba asked, curious about his brother's perspective on the situation.

"I _know_ you are," Mokuba said as he rolled his eyes at his brother's dense reaction and yet not surprised in the least. "He's the only person you actually tolerate besides me."

"What makes you say that?"

Internally laughing at having to actually explain it to his brother, Mokuba pointed out, "He's the only one you willingly spend any of your free time with besides me. That's what friends _do_."

"Yeah, but he's my rival," Kaiba argued.

"But he's also your friend," Mokuba countered. "You can be both, you know."

"I guess," Kaiba conceded with a shrug.

Smiling kindly at his brother, Mokuba told him, "It's a good thing, nii-sama."

"If you say so," Kaiba said with a faint smile at his brother. "But I should probably let you get back to your homework."

Hugging his brother one more time, Mokuba agree, "Okay. Thanks for telling me, nii-sama," and watched as Kaiba left after a few more words.

Kaiba started to head back to his room, feeling an immense feeling of relief at Mokuba's reaction. He couldn't stop turning his brother's words about Yami in his mind, but he did his best to push them out of his mind for the moment.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed last week's update! There's still a LOT of fun ahead, so I hope that you continue to enjoy it!

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

_It was humiliating to have to admit that it wasn't all bad as a kitten and that was largely because of Yami, which was even worse_

The next update will go up on **Sunday, September 7th** and until then, I look forward to hearing your thoughts!


	13. Chapter 13: Comparisons

**Chapter 13: Comparisons**

Kaiba sighed in relief as he entered his shower, instantly feeling better as the water washed over him. It made him feel human all over again and he moaned in pleasure at the simple feeling of existing as himself. He hadn't realized how much he had missed it until he had the quiet moment alone, but it was truly a relief to be back to normal.

Although it wasn't true that that things were one hundred percent back to normal. He still felt a little off balance and then there was the whole Yami thing to consider.

Scowling, Kaiba did his best to put the matter of Yami out of his mind. It didn't pay to think of such things now, even if the shower was where he normally mulled over his problems. Not that Yami was actually a problem per se, but he was certainly complicated and it was more than Kaiba felt like thinking about at the moment.

No, instead he focused on how good the water felt as it ran over his body. How such a simple thing could bring him so much pleasure was a mystery, but he was determined not to take it for granted ever again. No, never again would Kaiba forget to value his humanity. And if he ever got his hands on Isis, she was doomed. Then again, knowing what sort of dark powers she had control of, maybe it was best to just avoid her in general. His temper was too quick to incite her wrath and that was a bad combination.

However, he didn't feel like thinking about Isis at the moment either, so he pushed her from his mind as well and tried to focus on the water instead. However, as Kaiba's fingers traversed his body, his mind was instantly transported to how good it had felt to have Yami's fingers working his body as a kitten. It was hard to forget that divine feeling and he had to hold back a sound at the memories of how good he had felt at the time. It was downright mortifying, but the memories were not so quick to leave him. It was humiliating to have to admit that it wasn't _all_ bad as a kitten and that was largely because of Yami, which was even worse. He owed his rival a great debt, one he wasn't even sure how to start paying back and that was deeply galling.

But still, his mind kept drifting back to those wonderful massages Yami had given him as a kitten. His mind traitorously started to wonder what it would feel like on his human body and Kaiba's eyes went wide in shock at the thought. _I did not just think that_, Kaiba tried to tell himself, but to no avail. As he soaped himself up, his mind kept substituting Yami's touch and it made him shiver under the water. It reminded him too much of what had happened in bed when he woke up as human earlier that afternoon and it was all deeply disturbing to him. They were thoughts best left alone, but his mind wasn't nearly that kind.

No, it began to obsessively start to remember the feel of Yami's fingers against his bare skin, the feel of his lips against his, the hopeful look in those scarlet eyes. It all gave Kaiba a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know what to make of Yami's sudden—or not so sudden, apparently—interest in him. It didn't make any sense why Yami would feel that way toward him. After all, he had done nothing to encourage those sorts of feelings. Quite the opposite, really. And yet it seemed as if Yami _did_ desire him. But why? It boggled Kaiba's mind. He tried to chalk it up to his rival being an idiot, but he knew that wasn't true. So why did Yami feel that way? And why did it suddenly matter to Kaiba? It's not like it had any impact on him and his life if Yami harbored feelings toward him. But for some strange reason, Kaiba couldn't write Yami off so easily and it annoyed the hell out of him. Was this a result of feeling like he owed Yami for taking care of him as a kitten? Whatever the reason, it was irritating and Kaiba scowled at his own reactions. He shouldn't have any reaction at all and yet here he was, debating the issue like it mattered.

Shaking his head as if to dislodge the thoughts, water went flying everywhere as a result. He quickly applied shampoo to his hair and once again found himself thinking about his shared showers with Yami when Kaiba was a kitten. It was hard to forget the feeling of Yami's fingers in his fur. It made his mind wonder what it would feel like to have those talented fingers run through his hair as a human. It was a starling thought and Kaiba immediately tried to distance himself from it. First of all, it was a downright absurd thought because Yami wasn't nearly tall enough to pull off such a feat when they were standing. And secondly, why would they ever shower together when they were both human? There was no purpose to it.

But the image of Yami, wet in the shower, wasn't so quick to leave him. Especially once his mind pointed out the potential under those circumstances. Against his better judgment, he tried picturing things heating up as Yami pressed close to him until their bodies were touching and began kissing him while his fingers aimlessly wandered along Kaiba's heated flesh. He felt a shocking jolt of arousal at the idea and it was enough to distract him from his thoughts. What was wrong with him, thinking such things? And why would he derive any pleasure from it? _Because what you did with him felt good_, his mind gleefully pointed out until he hushed it. He would never admit to such a thing. Still, he felt an unfamiliar ache building up inside of him that he didn't know how to address.

Rinsing his hair, Kaiba tried to distract himself from the problems in his mind, but it was of no use; Yami would not be so easily forgotten or dismissed. It made Kaiba growl in irritation and he forced himself to calm down since it did him no good to get worked up over it. Besides, that proved that Yami had gotten to him, which Kaiba refused to accept. But then why did the memory of the fear of rejection in Yami's eyes disturb him so much? There was no reason for it. And yet there was still that nagging feeling lingering. It was irritating, but it seemed there was no helping it.

"What is wrong with me?" Kaiba wondered out loud as he finished rinsing the last of the suds out of his hair.

Sadly, there were no easy answers. Instead, Kaiba shut off the water and toweled off, once again feeling relief at the normalcy of his oh so human actions.

Quickly blow drying his hair, Kaiba was once again reminded of his time as a kitten. Somehow it didn't feel nearly as good in his human form as it did in his kitten one to be under the heat of the dryer. It wasn't that he missed being a kitten, but his mind was still drawing all sorts of comparisons for some reason.

Finally finishing in the bathroom, Kaiba shut off the lights and got into bed. Surrounded by the darkness, Kaiba thought the night vision hadn't been so bad as a kitten, even if it did come at the cost of seeing the world in colors. Still, it wasn't worth staying as a kitten.

Shifting in bed, Kaiba couldn't quite get himself into a comfortable position. As he lay in the silence, he suddenly realized he was still instinctually listening for the calming sound of Yami's even breathing while he slept. It was yet another startling revelation and Kaiba didn't like it in the least. However, his room was too quiet without Yami there and Kaiba did his best to ignore such a stupid sentiment that didn't stop his traitorous mind from picturing Yami lying next to him in bed, fast asleep. Why was that such a…_comfort_ to him? It didn't make any sense to Kaiba why that would put him at ease. It made it easier to sleep for some reason, but that couldn't be allowed. Forcibly pushing the mental image out of his mind, Kaiba lay in the all too quiet darkness and continued ruminating on the problem of Yami.

Now that he was in bed, his mind was transported to when he woke up as a human. He couldn't forget the feel of Yami's lips against his own, the touch of Yami's hand against his bare skin, the feeling of Yami so pliant beneath him. It once again stoked that ache inside of him and Kaiba felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Why was he thinking about such humiliating thins? And it was humiliating, knowing that there was a part of him that wanted to experience more. But Kaiba didn't even know what "more" entailed. Did it mean more touching, more making out, more sexual?

Kaiba instantly shied away from the latter thought. He had never given much credence to sexuality in general, let alone his own. It had just never seemed important when compared to anything else in his life. His brother, his company, it was all more important than something trivial such as who Kaiba liked. What difference did another person make? Kaiba had never even had a crush on someone before because no one had ever captured his attention as being worthy enough and it had never been a problem before.

However, now it seemed that ignoring such things were a bad idea. Kaiba didn't like being so caught off guard and he wondered what he should do. His mind was quick to supply him with vivid remembrances of Yami's body pressed against his as they kissed and there was that annoying ache again. It also raised the question of why he had responded the way he had; without any experience, he was at a loss to explain it as anything other than instincts. So Kaiba tried picturing himself taking a more proactive role and he thought about himself kissing Yami first and willingly. He once again felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment over what he was thinking, but Kaiba persevered. However, Kaiba quickly floundered over what to do next. He could touch Yami's body, but what did that accomplish? And he could think about sex, but he failed to see how anyone could derive pleasure based on the mechanics of the male body. He just couldn't grasp it mentally, so he moved on to other thoughts. That really only left hand jobs, which was a pointless exercise that he could do himself if he were so inclined, or blow jobs. He certainly couldn't imagine himself giving one to Yami—or anyone for that matter—and he wasn't sure how having someone's mouth on him would be pleasurable. It just seemed so…_awkward_.

Realizing that he had just used logic to run out of further imaginings, Kaiba was completely puzzled by what Yami could want from him. There just seemed to be no point if all they were going to do was make out from time to time. Besides, what reason did he have to kiss Yami? There needed to be a purpose or else what was the point?

His mind drifted back to the sex he had dismissed outright from the start. There had to be pleasure there or else why would people be so obsessed with it? But it was so far beyond his realm of experience that he didn't know what to do. He supposed he could research it, but that seemed like a horrible idea. He could only imagine the twisted results he'd find on the internet with that specific search string. So that was out for sure. That didn't leave him with much, though. Plus, he wasn't even sure if that was what Yami was really after. It made sense on one level because Yami seemed like a very sensual creature by nature, given how he had reacted after Kaiba returned to normal. But on another, who knew what Yami really wanted? Kaiba certainly had no clue. That really left Kaiba with only two choices: ignore the issue or talk it out, which _really_ didn't appeal to him at all. Yet Yami seemed to be expecting an answer of some sort and Kaiba had nothing to offer him in that regard.

It was all too damn confusing and Kaiba didn't know what to make of any of it. He hated not knowing and understanding things and Yami was an absolutely infuriating mystery. But was he one that Kaiba felt like solving? Kaiba wasn't so sure.

Kaiba was surprised when he yawned; he hadn't realized how tired he actually was. Writing it off as the after effects of transforming back to human, Kaiba let sleep take him with very little resistance for once.

* * *

**A/N:** This is a special kind of dense Kaiba, I have to say. Logic is not always the best friend…

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

_Rolling his eyes, Kaiba questioned, "What the hell are you doing on the floor?"_

The next chapter will go up on **Sunday, September 14th**, so please look forward to it! in the meantime, I shall look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter!


	14. Chapter 14: A Thorough Explanation

**A/N:** Please note that this chapter starts to **earn the M rating**, so please proceed with caution if you're not interested in that sort of thing. It's not a lemon, but it's certainly involves some **nudity and sexual content**, so…

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**Chapter 14: A Thorough Explanation **

The morning brought no clarity on the situation at hand and that drove Kaiba to make a decision he didn't like at all. On the upside, it made Mokuba extremely happy that Kaiba had actually volunteered to drive him to Yuugi's. On the downside, it meant Kaiba had to deal with Yami, even if that _was_ the whole reason he was going over there in the first place.

All too soon they were in front of the Game Shop and Kaiba steeled his nerves for what needed to be done. Not that he was _nervous_, but he certainly wasn't looking forward to the awkward meeting that was about to happen.

When Kaiba got out of the car, Mokuba was more than a little surprised. "Nii-sama?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yeah?" Kaiba replied, even though he knew why Mokuba was confused.

"You're…coming in?" Mokuba wanted to know as they walked up the sidewalk together.

"I have something to take care of," Kaiba answered, although he failed to elaborate on what.

Shrugging, Mokuba decided, "Cool," and left it at that as they approached the front door.

Yuugi was quick to greet them at the door with a happy, "Hey, Mokuba-kun, Kaiba-kun," although he sounded a little puzzled as he said Kaiba's name.

Kaiba merely nodded in response as they walked to the living room. He was relived to see Yami lounging on the couch in sensual repose and Kaiba's eyes traced over his form without him even being aware that of what he was doing. The action didn't go unnoticed by Yami, but he said nothing of it, settling instead for a casual, "Hey," to the two brothers.

"We need to talk," Kaiba stated, hearing how harsh his tone was and knowing there was no helping it. He was terse in general and even more so when it was something he really didn't want to do.

Seemingly nonplussed at the tone, Yami said, "I figured as much," as he got off the couch with a grace that did not go unnoticed by Kaiba. "My room?"

"Sure," Kaiba agreed after biting back on his first instinct to be sarcastic.

Yami led the way and Kaiba's eyes strayed to his pert ass as they ascended the stairs together. He couldn't help but notice it, even as he cursed himself for being so easily distracted by such a thing.

After entering the room, Kaiba shut the door and Yami tried not to wince at the finality of it. Since Kaiba had initiated the conversation, Yami waited for him to start talking as they stood awkwardly in the center of the room.

The silence drug out from awkward to uncomfortable rather quickly, but still Yami said nothing. It finally forced Kaiba to demand, "What do you want from me?"

"Aren't we being blunt this morning?" Yami teased, unable to stop himself.

"Just answer my damn question," Kaiba ordered, his tone more commanding than he was feeling at the moment.

"I'm not one of your subordinates, you don't get to order me around," Yami pointed out, causing Kaiba to scowl.

"Fine," Kaiba spat. "Please answer my damn question."

"Why are you so worked up already?" Yami wanted to know, deliberately dodging Kaiba's actual question.

"I said please," Kaiba growled, not the least bit amused that his rare show of manners had been ignored. "And I'm not worked up."

"Could have fooled me," Yami said with a pointed look at Kaiba's clenched fists at his sides where they rested.

It took a moment for the comment to process before he unclenched his hands and wiggled his fingers a little to restore feeling in them. "Whatever. Now."

Realizing that he had tortured Kaiba enough on the matter, Yami finally answered the original question, "I don't want anything from you, Kaiba."

"Bullshit," Kaiba immediately responded, not believing it for a moment.

Crossing his arms defensively across his chest, Yami said, "It's not bullshit. I want _you_. That's different."

Kaiba didn't know what to say to that, so he eventually muttered, "Now who's the one being blunt?"

"Apparently that's the best way to deal with you," Yami defended himself with a shrug.

"But _why_?" Kaiba pressed, still not fully grasping the idea.

"Because you're stubborn and—"

Cutting off Yami, Kaiba clarified, "Not that. Why do you…want me?"

"Because you're you. We went over this yesterday," Yami pointed out with a laugh.

Biting back a growl, Kaiba snapped, "It still makes no damn sense."

"It does if you think about it," Yami stated, causing Kaiba to scowl again.

"I _did_ think about it," Kaiba admitted, earning him an arched eyebrow from Yami, "and it _still_ makes no damn sense."

"And what exactly _did_ you think about?" Yami asked with great interest.

"That's not important!" Kaiba peevishly retorted.

"Oh, I disagree. It's _very_ important," Yami said with a hum of interest.

"Of course you do," Kaiba replied, holding back a frustrated sign. "The point is—"

Interrupting Kaiba, Yami clarified, "No, the point is that you were thinking about me."

"What does that matter?" Kaiba wanted to know.

"That you're interested in me," Yami triumphantly pointed out to Kaiba.

"Hardly," Kaiba immediately denied out of habit.

"Then why are you here if you're not interested?" Yami wisely asked.

Refusing to give in to his urge to fidget, Kaiba growled, "I already told you."

"You told me we needed to talk. You never said about what," Yami pointed out with a grin, knowing he was ruffling Kaiba's feathers.

"You know what," Kaiba muttered, finding it hard to hold Yami's playful gaze. It did too many weird things to him, things he didn't understand or know how to stop.

"Do I?" Yami questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"Don't play innocent with me," Kaiba warned, not liking that game in the least.

"Unless you're here to talk about what happened between us the other day, I have no idea why you're here," Yami truthfully answered.

"About that," Kaiba tersely said, finding it difficult to start the conversation.

"Yes?" Yami asked, refusing to make things easy for Kaiba; Yami wasn't letting him escape the conversation so easily. When Kaiba said nothing, Yami prompted him, "You know, in order to talk about what happened, you actually need to you know, _talk_."

"I know that," Kaiba answered as he turned his nose up arrogantly at the comment. Yami could easily imagine Kaiba's tail flickering in irritation as he held back a grin at the thought.

"Then start talking," Yami encouraged.

"I was getting to that," Kaiba snapped.

"Slowly," Yami added with a grin.

Making a, "Hn," noise, Kaiba took a moment to compose himself. "I don't understand…the _specifics_ of what you want from me."

"What's not to understand?" Yami asked, confused about what Kaiba was at a loss over in the situation.

"Do you…" Kaiba started to ask, but couldn't bring himself to finish the question. It was all just so _awkward_.

"Do I what?" Yami questioned, unable to deduce where Kaiba was headed with his train of thought.

"What do you want from me?" Kaiba forced himself to finish the question.

"I already told you," Yami replied and got an irritated look in response. It made Yami realize that there was more being asked than just the obvious. "Are you trying to ask what I want to do to you? With you?"

Kaiba's cheeks felt flushed over the bluntness of what Yami was saying, but he forced himself to nod in response.

A slow grin came over Yami as he impishly asked, "Are you asking for a demonstration?"

"No!" Kaiba hurriedly denied, forcing himself to stand his ground when Yami took a come closer to him.

Approaching Kaiba slowly, as if he were afraid that he would run, Yami continued, "I'd be more than happy to show you."

"I'm sure," Kaiba sarcastically replied as he warily watched Yami come closer to him.

Pressing his body flush against Kaiba's, Yami murmured, "Let me show you."

Kaiba was finding it harder to breathe, being so close to crimson and his heart was pounding. "No," Kaiba repeated, but it lacked the authority he had hoped to convey.

"You don't sound so sure about that," Yami triumphantly noted. It led him to be bold and reach up to caress Kaiba's cheek with his hand and use it to guide their faces closer together. When he met with no resistance, Yami gently kissed Kaiba's lips, pleased when he gave in for a moment before his mind kicked in and tried to ruin it.

"What's the point of this?" Kaiba irritably asked, wondering why he couldn't make his body create distance between them.

"Point?" Yami repeated without understanding.

"Why are you doing this?" Kaiba asked, but it still didn't clarify it for Yami.

"Because I want to be with you," Yami murmured as he stroked Kaiba's cheek.

"No, I mean, what's the point of _kissing_?" Kaiba questioned in frustration.

Yami had to hold back his first reaction to laugh, because it was just _such_ a Kaiba response. "Because it feels good," Yami slowly replied, doing his best to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"So?"

This time Yami did chuckle, because it was just too precious. "_So_, you do it _because _it feels good."

"But what purpose does that serve?" Kaiba wanted to know, hating that his inexperience was showing.

Smothering a grin, Yami explained, "It leads to other things like touching," and ran his hands alongside of Kaiba's chest.

"Like sex," Kaiba bluntly added, doing his best to ignore Yami's wandering hands.

"Eventually, if you're lucky," Yami confirmed, amazed that Kaiba hadn't tried to stop his hands.

"Lucky," Kaiba sarcastically repeated. "What's luck got to do with any of it?"

"It's not always a given thing," Yami replied. "Like right now, for example."

"You're not after sex?" Kaiba questioned in surprise.

Resting his hands on Kaiba's hips, Yami answered, "Not right now, no."

"And later?" Kaiba forced himself to ask, even though he was horrified by having to do so.

"That really depends on you," Yami told him.

"But you want to have sex with me," Kaiba stated.

"Honestly?"

Rolling his eyes, Kaiba sarcastically quipped, "No, I want you to lie to me. Of course I want to know honestly!"

"You just don't seem ready for that answer," Yami wisely replied, ignoring the sarcasm.

"That is not for you to decide," Kaiba snidely retorted, even though he knew he was struggling with the conversation.

"Then yes, eventually I would like to be with you in an intimate manner," Yami confirmed, confusing Kaiba in the process by the word choice.

Sensing Kaiba's lack of understanding, Yami decided to clarify "Because I like you in that way, because you're you."

"But _why_?" Kaiba demanded.

Yami had always known that Kaiba was dense about certain matters, but this was a whole new level. "I already explained that to you," Yami gently reminded Kaiba. "I want a relationship with you and all that it entails."

"Including sex," Kaiba flatly stated.

"Yes, including that," Yami said with a laugh. "You're really hung up on that, aren't you?"

"It's not…" Kaiba tried to say and failed. "I just don't understand the…appeal."

"The appeal of you or sex with you?" Yami asked, unclear on which Kaiba meant.

"Either," Kaiba truthfully answered.

"I could stand here and explain it to you until you're willing to accept it, or…" Yami trailed off as he went in for another kiss he backed them both up until Kaiba's back was pressed against the door. He took the opportunity to deepen the kiss and he slipped his hands under Kaiba's shirt to touch that tempting flesh he had dreamed about so often. It caused Kaiba to shiver and it was enough to get him to push at Yami to put some distance between them. He didn't like being put in such a passive role and he knew there was only one way to fix that.

Moving away from the door and forcing Yami to step back in the process, Kaiba waited until they were back in the middle of the bedroom before he kissed Yami. To say that Yami was surprised was an understatement, but he didn't let it stop him from enjoying the attention. He entwined his fingers in Kaiba's soft brunette hair and used the hold to pull him closer still. Kaiba was too busy trying to analyze what he was experiencing to correct Yami on the matter.

"You can touch me," Yami reminded Kaiba in between kisses.

"Don't tell me what to do," Kaiba growled as Yami continued touching him, once again wanting more without knowing what exactly that meant. That feeling intensified when Yami ran his hands over Kaiba's ass before squeezing it and pulling their hips closer.

"You're being too literal," Yami decided as he took Kaiba by the hand and tried to lead him closer to the bed.

Balking at what he perceived Yami's actions to be leading, Kaiba stubbornly stood in the middle of the room. "And that problem with that is what?" Kaiba demanded.

"Nothing, nothing," Yami reassured him. "I'm just saying that there's other ways of looking at this."

"Illogical ways," Kaiba countered, still failing to see Yami's point.

"Not necessarily," Yami said as he gracefully dropped to his knees in front of Kaiba.

Rolling his eyes, Kaiba questioned, "What the hell are you doing on the floor?"

"Since telling you isn't working, I'm going to show you," Yami explained as he slowly unzipped Kaiba's pants.

"And what makes you think I'll allow this?" Kaiba primly asked, although he made no move to stop Yami.

"Because I _know_ you're curious despite yourself," Yami replied before smirking. "Must be some left over kitten in you."

"_No_," Kaiba icily refused to accept. "You really just expect me to stand in the middle of your room with my pants around my ankles as you do…whatever?"

"Feel free to get completely naked if you want," Yami encouraged as he began working Kaiba's pants off of him. "I'm all for it, actually."

"Of course you are," Kaiba muttered as he crossed his arms over his chest defensively.

"What's so wrong with that?" Yami wanted to know as he started on Kaiba's brief's next.

Ignoring the question, Kaiba began to feel self-conscious at the way Yami was looking at him. "What?"

Lightly running his fingers along Kaiba's member, he smirked as it responded under his touch.

"That proves nothing," Kaiba defended himself, even as he began to feel that ache inside as Yami continued teasing his member to hardness. It was beyond him how such a light touch could bring him anything close to enjoyment.

When he was sure that Kaiba wasn't going to reject him, Yami stepped up his actions and earned a sharp inhale for his work. Kaiba watched in disbelief as his cock started to harden under Yami's ministrations. Was it really that pleasurable for him? He failed to see why, but he allowed Yami to continue against his better judgment. He watched almost as if he were outside of himself as Yami continued working his length. It was surreal to see and Kaiba wondered what else he was supposed to do either than just stand there and experience it.

Considering the almost scientific way Kaiba was looking down at him, Yami was amazed that he managed to achieve an erection at all. But jerking off Kaiba was not his intention, so he continued with his plan. Holding Kaiba's cock steady, Yami took it into his mouth and began enthusiastically go down on Kaiba.

To say that was unexpected was an understatement and Kaiba's eyes went wide as his brain tried to process what was happening. However, it seemed like something had misfired in his mind because his sole thought was, "_Good_." It felt impossibly good to be surrounded by that wet warmth and Kaiba shuddered at the sensation of Yami hollowing his cheeks to add to the sensations. Instinctively he uncrossed his arms to enable him to use one hand to hold onto Yami's shoulder. Yami took it as a sign of encouragement as he noticed the shift in Kaiba's breathing. He could see a faint flush in Kaiba's cheeks and it was so endearing to Yami. It made him moan in satisfaction and he eased off when Kaiba couldn't stop himself from thrusting lightly in response, but then jumped right back into it.

There was time later for Kaiba to be shocked that his mind was so easily dominated by simple sensations. For now, Yami was too good at distracting him. Kaiba couldn't explain his rapid breathing or the fact that a _mouth_ could induce such toe curling pleasure. At the moment, he didn't really care because Yami was using his free hand to fondle Kaiba's heavy sac.

The unexpected action drug a fragment of a noise from Kaiba and Yami would have smirked if he could. But it was Yami's turn to be surprised when Kaiba's other hand entwined in his tricolor hair. He expected to Kaiba to use the hold to start guiding the movements, but he did no such thing.

When Yami swallowed around his member, Kaiba about came undone. An actual, "_Ahh_," escaped from Kaiba and Yami moaned in response as he became even more turned on by the experience. He could feel his own member straining against his pants, but Yami persevered. It wasn't about him, it was all about making Kaiba understand and from the sounds of things, Yami was making positive progress.

Kaiba couldn't believe that he had made such a sound. He was starting to feel weak in the knees and his grip on Yami's shoulder tightened as a result. He could feel a different sensation washing over him and his eyes fluttered shut against his will as he tried to figure out what was changing.

Sensing Kaiba's distraction, Yami let his hand drift further back to stroke Kaiba's perineum. That caused Kaiba's eyes to snap open as he stared down at Yami.

That's when it hit Kaiba that he had his most powerful rival on his knees before him. It was a heady sensation and when combined with his other intense nebulous feeling it almost overwhelmed him. He felt dangerously close to something and it was too much to process.

When Yami rolled his tongue against Kaiba's member, it was finally too much. Kaiba came hard with a gasp and watched in disbelief as Yami swallowed his release. When Yami finally backed off of the spent member, he smirked up at Kaiba, who looked a little shell-shocked over what had just happened.

When Yami wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, it finally caused Kaiba to stutter, "You—you just—"

"Yeah, I did," Yami proudly agreed with a smug look that did things to Kaiba.

"Why, but…why did—" Kaiba continued trying to ask, but he was having problems formulating his question.

"Because I wanted to," Yami replied anyway, getting the gist of it. "I want to _be_ with you. How many times do I have to say it before you get that?"

Kaiba didn't have an answer so he remained silent. When Yami leaned back into a position that made it easier to talk, Kaiba suddenly noticed the telltale bulge that shocked him. "Wait, you got turned on by that?" Kaiba asked in disbelief.

Unable to stop himself, Yami had to laugh at that. "Of course I did!"

When Kaiba continued to make incredulous noises that refused to form into works, Yami took pity on him. "Giving you pleasure brings me pleasure," Yami patiently explained. "What's so hard to understand about that?"

It was such a foreign concept for the brunette to process until he remembered that making Mokuba happy made Kaiba happy. He was assuming it was a similar principle. "But it's your _mouth_," Kaiba protested, failing to see how that had caused so much pleasure for either of them.

"You're more than welcome to experiment and find out for yourself," Yami offered and Kaiba swallowed hard at the sight it presented.

Kaiba's first instinct was flat out rejection, but then his competitive nature kicked in and he didn't want to lose. But then again, the thought of being on his knees for Yami went against all of his training.

Stalling for time, Kaiba pulled up his briefs and pants and noticed a flicker of disappointment in Yami's eyes.

"Are you leaving?" Yami asked, doing his best to keep his emotions out of his voice.

Kaiba knew he could walk right out of that room and try to never think about his experience, but his feet refused to do such a thing. Instead he sat down, fanning his trench coat behind him.

Yami's expression brightened at that and Kaiba didn't like how that made him feel inside as a result. It was stupid. Why should such a thing make him react at all? But all Kaiba was doing was distracting himself from his decision. He tried really hard to picture himself doing the same to Yami who would be laying down on the floor, which at least gave the illusion that he was in control.

Yami was at a loss as to Kaiba's sudden silence, until he realized, "Wait, you're actually thinking about it?"

"We are now…out of balance," Kaiba replied, no realizing it bothered him until he verbalized it.

"That's not how this works," Yami said with a chuckle at the Kaibaness of the thought. "You don't have to do that to me just because I did for you. This isn't about obligation."

"But what other reason is there?" Kaiba asked, still failing to understand.

"Because you can get off on bringing your partner pleasure. That _is_ a form of pleasure. Look, come here," Yami requested.

Balking at the order, Kaiba demanded, "Why?"

"Because I want to show you something," Yami answered. "It would work better if we hadn't just done what we did, but it'll be fine. Now please come here."

Once again Kaiba's curiosity got the best of him. Standing up, Kaiba walked over to Yami, who was in the process of taking off his shirt. Arching an eyebrow at that, Kaiba said nothing of it as he stood over Yami.

"Sit on me," Yami requested, before laughing at how that sounded and the expression it caused Kaiba to make. "Seriously, straddle me and sit."

"You're absurd," Kaiba told him, even as he obeyed. He became very aware of Yami's hard on and it made him shift uncomfortably. That in turn caused Yami to hold back a groan as he said, "Ignore that. Now, I want you to touch me."

"Why?"

Sighing, Yami once again repeated, "Because I'm trying to show you something."

Holding back a snarky comment, Kaiba did as he was told and placed one hand on Yami's stomach. "Fine, I'm touching you. So what?"

"Not like that," Yami said with another laugh.

Not the least bit amused, Kaiba replied, "You're being awfully demanding."

"Just bear with me," Yami told him. "Touch me like I did you earlier when we were kissing.

Kaiba remembered all too well what Yami's touches felt like and it was embarrassing to try and recreate it. But apparently he was committed this far, so Kaiba decided to at least try, because he refused to be worse at something than Yami.

Starting at Yami's hip, Kaiba lightly tailed his fingers along his body. He watched in fascination as chills were raised on Yami's skin, even though the room was warm. It caused him to notice the change in Yami's nipples and he hesitated for a brief moment before moving his fingers over one of the nubs. A small noise escaped from Yami and Kaiba felt his hardness beneath him move at the action. It caused him to repeat the movement on the other nipple and received similar results.

It was fascinating to Kaiba, even though it _was_ just a physiological response to stimulation. He continued lightly moving his fingers along Yami's body, watching with curiosity as his cheeks became flushed and his breathing quickened. "So you're enjoying this," Kaiba stated, never ceasing his movements.

"Because you're the one doing it," Yami elaborated, figuring it was something that Kaiba needed to hear to understand.

"And if it was the mutt?" Kaiba asked, his fingers ceasing to move for the briefest of moments.

"He's not allowed to do this, nor interested in it," Yami said with a laugh. "You're the only one."

Something inside of Kaiba responded positively to that and he arched his eyebrows in surprise at his own response. "Is that so?" Kaiba murmured as he shifted his position, causing Yami to hold back a groan. "That is not entirely…displeasing."

Grinning at the phrasing, Yami realized, "That's your way of saying exclusivity suits you?"

Shrugging, Kaiba neither confirmed nor denied it. His silence caused Yami to continue, "That goes both ways, you know."

It took a moment to process before Kaiba snidely said, "You say that like it matters to me," but still his hands traversed across Yami's skin. He eventually began to use his other hand as well, tracing along Yami's side and watching with growing interest as his rival reacted to his actions.

Even though Yami was enjoying the attention, he ached for something more substantial. It finally drove him to encourage, "You can do more than just touch me."

"Such as?" Kaiba asked, even though it pained him to do so.

Giving Kaiba a playful look that did weird things to his insides, Yami teased, "Am I going to have to spell everything out for you?"

"_No_," Kaiba icily retorted, drawing himself up to his full height out of habit.

"Then do what feels natural," Yami told him, hoping for some progress.

"Natural, right," Kaiba sarcastically repeated. "None of this is natural."

"People do this all the time," Yami countered.

Sniffing in disdain, Kaiba returned, "People are idiots."

"Kaiba," Yami said in a pleading voice with an undercurrent of need that cut straight through Kaiba.

"What?" Kaiba asked, even as his body reacted by leaning forward and bracing itself with both hands on either side of Yami's head. When Yami uttered nothing more than a breathy moan, Kaiba instinctively kissed Yami, reveling in the feeling of total control of the situation. Kiss began to melt into kiss and Kaiba felt the need to readjust his position.

The action made Yami moan into the kiss with need and caused Kaiba to feel a flare of heat in his veins. He was realizing that he was totally dominating Yami's desires and it was a heady feeling. It drove him to reach between them with one hand to continue touching Yami and it was met with another sigh of pleasure that drove Kaiba to continue. He hesitated momentarily when his fingers encountered the waistband of Yami's pants, debating what to do. There didn't seem to be anywhere off limits with Yami and Kaiba was curious despite himself. It drove him to run his hand over Yami's trapped erection and squeeze at it lightly, amazed at the reaction it earned him.

Yami broke the kiss with a gasp as he arched his back while thrusting his hips. "Such a simple thing…" Kaiba murmured in disbelief, even as his mind wondered how different it would be if Yami was unclothed for that.

"I didn't think you were actually going to…you know," Yami tried to say once Kaiba moved his hand away and he was able to think clearly once again.

His instincts firmly in control, Kaiba pressed his lips to Yami's neck and began slowly kissing his way down it. Yami made an interesting sound as a result and Kaiba was startled when he licked along the delicate curve of Yami's throat, mortified that a seemingly kitten instinct had crossed over somehow.

The action pleased Yami greatly and he arched up at the sensation, finding it the best kind of torturous. The important thing was that Kaiba hadn't bolted. With that in mind, Yami entwined his fingers in lush brunette hair for a gentle caress.

"Still not a cat," Kaiba gruffly reminded, annoyed by the treatment and by the fact that it felt good.

Yami just laughed at that, running a finger along the curve of Kaiba's ear. "I much prefer you this way," Yami reassured him.

The conversation had distracted Kaiba from what he was doing and he was overcome with the absurdity of the situation. His mind continued to question had he seriously just licked at his rival's _neck_? And _enjoyed _it? It led him to ask, "Now what?"

"You keep going," Yami encouraged as he once again awkwardly shifted beneath Kaiba. "Of course if you _really_ want to understand, you'd take off your coat and shirt."

Disliking the option, Kaiba knew that he was too committed at this late point to stop. Grumbling while complying, Kaiba shed the requested items and once more felt scandalously bare before Yami. "And this proves what?" Kaiba demanded.

"Everything," Yami murmured as he used his hands to guide Kaiba back down and closer to him.

Before he could argue back, Kaiba's breathing hitched as their skin came into contact. He felt something shoot through him that felt a lot like want and it shocked him. Before he could think further on it, Yami was kissing him intensely. Kaiba got caught up in it despite himself as Yami stirred his body to life with light teasing touches that were slowly driving him insane with feelings. It made Kaiba question, was that what he was doing to Yami? It seemed like such an obvious thing, but Kaiba was still surprised by it for some reason. It was weird being capable of doing such a thing to his rival.

Reacting once more on instinct, Kaiba shifted positions and began peppering Yami's chest with slow kisses that were driving him wild with desire.

Even though it felt embarrassing to do, Kaiba lingered on one of Yami's nipples, using his tongue to tease that hardened nub. Kaiba was not prepared for Yami's moan or what it would do to him. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn he felt his cock stir at the sensuous sound, but that couldn't be right. How could a mere _noise_ turn him on like that? Still, it made Kaiba continue to lathe attention on it while he brought tone hand up to tease the other nipple. A sound like a whimper got caught in Yami's throat and that time there was no denying the reaction in Kaiba's pants at the sound. When Yami softly moaned, "Kaiba," with need, Kaiba had undeniable proof that his member was stirring back to hardness.

"Again," Kaiba ordered, his voice sounding rough.

Completely distracted, all Yami could say was, "Huh?" When he got a pointed look in response that Yami still found arousing, it made him realize what he had done. Arching his body closer for more contact, Yami once again moaned Kaiba's name with want, causing the brunette to swallow hard as the sound processed as definitely a massive turn on thing for him. It was beyond reason because how many times had Yami yelled his name during a duel without any reaction whatsoever on Kaiba's part? But this was different. It made Kaiba want to do more to inspire that reaction and he switched his attention to the other nub to start. When the same thing didn't work, Kaiba lightly took it between his teeth and tugged, earning him a loud gasp of surprise, a noise he decided he also enjoyed. Kaiba became wrapped up in Yami's reactions as he continued, even while some part of his mind was questioning why his rival's reactions were inspiring a burning need in him. He could barely believe that was getting hard again and from such a thing. The whole thing was a mystery to him, but that didn't stop him from continuing to explore Yami's body with his lips and fingers to earn more reactions.

Every shuddering breath, every movement made by Yami was being catalogued by Kaiba. He supposed he was being rather scientific with his explorations, but that was just his nature. However, he encountered a problem when he reached Yami's pants and couldn't decide whether or not to proceed. He was firmly resolved not to give a blowjob and hand jobs just seemed so pointless to Kaiba.

Sensing Kaiba's indecision, Yami decided to take a chance and started to struggle out of his pants. Kaiba didn't help, but he didn't hinder, either. Instead he watched with apathetic eyes as Yami became completely naked with a sigh of relief. Despite telling himself not to, Kaiba's eyes were drawn to Yami's erection and he was surprised by his urge to touch it. Still, he didn't move.

"Now you," Yami said, drawing his attention to his eyes.

"Why?" Kaiba wanted to know, even though in hindsight he realized it was a stupid question.

"Because we've come this far, we may as well keep going," Yami tried to reason, fervently hoping that Kaiba would agree. "Besides, you liked the results last time, so…"

Kaiba was inclined to be contrary, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. Unable to believe his own actions, Kaiba bared himself completely and awkwardly stood there, half-hard and waiting. "Now what?" Kaiba demanded, resisting the urge to cross his arms over his chest reflexively.

"First, we relocate to the bed," Yami suggested as he stood up to do so, pleased when Kaiba followed without complaint. "Then we continue."

The twin bed was too small to lay on, so Kaiba found himself resting on his haunches, watched as Yami got into the same position mere millimeters away from their knees touching. Before Kaiba could make a snide comment, Yami reached out and embraced Kaiba while pulling his body flush against each other. The amount of skin to skin contact made Kaiba ache inside and he was once again overly aware of Yami's hardness between them.

Realizing the brunette's attention had wandered, Yami reached between them and started to stroke Kaiba's length, amused when it twitched at his touch. He indulged in a slow kiss, not the least bit surprised when Kaiba escalated it. Yami allowed Kaiba to take control, pleased when the brunette brought his hands up to hold onto his rival's hips.

"What, so now we're just going to do this to each other?" Kaiba asked with an eye roll, finding the slow pace was irritating him with frustration that he was unable to express.

"If you want," Yami said with a shrug before he changed his grip and began working the now hard length.

Kaiba's eyes fluttered shut against his will for a moment as he tried to process the sudden onslaught of pleasure. Quickly recovering, Kaiba realized he couldn't just sit there and receive the attention. He knew Yami had said it wasn't about obligation, but he felt the need to return the favor, even though he was horribly inexperienced in that area. Determined not to let that show, Kaiba resolved himself to continue.

Very slowly, almost shyly, Kaiba let one of his hands drift down and encounter his hardness before wrapping his hand around it as Yami had done to him. And yet it wasn't unpleasant somehow as he began mimicking Yami's actions. Still, he couldn't resist muttering, "This is weird."

"No, it's not," Yami disagreed as ran his thumb over the head of Kaiba's cock and smeared the fluids that had begun. It made Kaiba inhale sharply instead of answering. When Yami began working his length in earnest, Kaiba faltered as his brain began to short circuit over the increase of feelings. It was just a hand job, yet it felt better than anything he had ever tried to do to himself in the past. Was that because Yami was the one doing it or was he just better at it? Somehow Kaiba didn't care for either answer.

Once again sensing Kaiba's distraction, Yami leaned forward and nipped at Kaiba's shoulder to refocus him.

"Ow, what was that for?" Kaiba demanded, resting the urge to rub the abused spot.

"You're thinking too much," Yami explained. "Just feel this."

Kaiba was about to protest, but Yami began teasingly kissing his neck at the same time and it made Kaiba shudder from the overload of sensations. It was just a kiss, so why did it feel so good?

Realizing that it had been too long since Yami had made a noise of pleasure, Kaiba stepped up his actions by changing his grip and adjusting his speed. It earned him a protracted moan from Yami that pleased Kaiba on some deeper, unknown level, but he tried not to think about it too much. Instead he found himself starting to focus more on Yami as his actions became less foreign to Kaiba. It was weird that he was concerned about Yami's feelings when he should be chasing after his own, but he was starting to understand Yami's assertion that giving pleasure caused pleasure.

It drove him to kiss Yami passionately, catching the former pharaoh off-guard in the most pleasant of ways. "Mm, Kaiba," Yami sighed, still expertly working the length in his hand. Kaiba was slowly losing control as they continued, too far gone to control the occasional soft moan that escaped him when Yami did some new thing with his hand. There was time to be embarrassed about it later; for now, Kaiba focused on trying to get Yami off before he himself came a second time.

When Kaiba readjusted his hold again, he was surprised when Yami moaned, "Yes, just like that."

"Like this?" Kaiba asked as he impishly added a bit of flare to his movements as he became more comfortable.

"_Yes_," Yami confirmed as he felt himself go weak in the knees. He was so close, having been tortured long enough from their earlier activities.

Trying to memorize what he was doing as if he'd need it for future reference, Kaiba continued even though his wrist was starting to tire. But he was amused by the way Yami's hips would randomly thrust into his actions, even as his own occasionally bucked in response to the former pharaoh's ministrations.

The pace between them grew increasingly frenetic as they neared their peaks and as much as Yami wanted to hold out longer just to prove that he could, it was too much to be touched by his crush in such a way. Yami finally succumbed with a shudder and a quiet but passionate moan of, "Kaiba!"

The sight of his rival's complete bliss as he came was immensely appealing to Kaiba and he was driven to kiss him deeply, finally cumming for a second time that afternoon with a moan he couldn't contain. It all just felt so impossibly good and he sat back and stared at Yami and the cum that was marking him. It affected Kaiba on an almost primal level and he was unaware of the interest his eyes betrayed. It was why Yami left it for the time being instead of cleaning up immediately. Besides, it wasn't as if he didn't understand the feeling of being turned on by how sexually debauched Kaiba looked at the moment. It was rare to see Kaiba looking anything but perfect and it gave Yami a perverse joy to know he had been the one to muss him up through their actions.

As his breathing returned to normal, so too did Kaiba's thoughts. Kaiba couldn't believe he had willingly participated in what had just transpired. What had come over him? But Kaiba couldn't deny that it had felt great or that he felt amazing in the aftermath. What was it about Yami that drove him to such extremes? Still, something didn't quite sit right with Kaiba about the whole thing now that his mind was starting to clear. "So this was just…a…demonstration?" Kaiba carefully questioned, trying to find the right words.

Looking horrified at the very idea, Yami quickly denied, "No, no, no, that was very real, Kaiba. I would never just do that to anybody, let alone to you."

"Because you like me," Kaiba added.

"Exactly," Yami confirmed, sounding relieved that Kaiba understood. "I want to do that and more with you, if you'd allow it."

The hopeful way Yami looked up at Kaiba with crimson eyes moved him despite his desire to stay levelheaded about the situation. "And this has nothing to do with me being turned into a cat," Kaiba continued.

"Kitten," Yami automatically corrected, "and no, it doesn't. I told you before that this wasn't about obligation."

It was a weird revelation to Kaiba to realize that he could trust what Yami was saying. "Okay," Kaiba finally announced, confusing Yami.

"Okay, what?" Yami questioned, unclear on Kaiba's meaning.

"Just…okay," Kaiba repeated, a little uncertain himself.

They sat in silence for a moment before Kaiba readjusted his position to sit more naturally on the covers, encouraging Yami to do the same. It gave Yami hope that Kaiba wasn't about to bolt out of there like he had done last time.

For lack of anything else to ask, Kaiba brought up a point that had been bothering him since the whole thing had started. "How did you become so…skilled at such things?"

"Practice," Yami answered with a laugh that quickly stopped when he saw the angry look in Kaiba's eyes.

"With whom?" Kaiba demanded, his mind immediately going places that he didn't like.

"Myself, who else?" Yami retorted, wondering who Kaiba had assumed he had been with to gain such experience.

"You seem awfully close to some of your friends," Kaiba commented, not liking the thought.

Laughing again, Yami reassured him, "Not like that. Besides, I don't think Honda or Jounouchi would like me getting that involved in their relationship."

It took a moment for that thought to process and Kaiba finally had to ask, "Wait, those two are _dating_?"

Grinning at Kaiba's incredulous reaction, Yami confirmed, "Yeah, they've been together for almost a year."

"But they're always fighting each other," Kaiba protested, still not comprehending it.

"Which is why they thought you and I got together ages ago," Yami explained, causing Kaiba's eyes to widen. "Something about fighting as foreplay."

Blinking rapidly at that, Kaiba had nothing to add to that, other than a disbelieving, "_Really_?"

"Yeah, which I can understand, as least," Yami said with a wink.

"I don't follow," Kaiba finally admitted, confused by Yami's comment.

"You've never been turned on during one of our duels?" Yami questioned with a knowing look.

Sure, Kaiba had felt invigorated by them, but he wasn't sure if that meant he had been aroused or not. It had just never occurred to him that was a possible reaction.

"But we should probably get clean," Yami suggested as he leaned over and grabbed a box of tissues.

Being as discrete as he could, Kaiba wiped himself clear as Yami did the same. He was surprised by his strong urge to get in the shower with Yami again, but with his brother and Yuugi downstairs, he didn't dare suggest it. _Besides_, his mind gleefully pointed out, _there's time for that later_.

Kaiba was startled from his thoughts when Yami climbed on top of his lap and situated himself comfortably. "Yes?" Kaiba asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Do you want to date?" Yami came straight out and asked.

"I never thought about it before," Kaiba honestly answered.

"And what about now?" Yami questioned as he began playfully kissing Kaiba's neck.

Hesitating a moment before letting his hands run along Yami's spine before cupping his firm ass, Kaiba said, "I don't know."

"Do you want to do more of this, but only with me?" Yami tried in order to get Kaiba to see things from a different perspective.

"I don't want to do this with anyone else," Kaiba confirmed, unable to picture anyone else remotely worth the time and energy.

"Then I'm pretty sure that means you want to date me exclusively by default," Yami rationalized with a grin.

When laid out in such a way, it made a weird sort of sense to Kaiba. "I never thought I'd have a boyfriend," Kaiba absentmindedly commented as his thumbs caressed Yami's ass.

"I suspect you never thought you'd have a girlfriend, either," Yami pointed out, knowing how Kaiba worked.

"Fair point," Kaiba conceded. "So now what?"

"We get dressed and go downstairs before they have a reason to be suspicious," Yami said with a sigh, more than content to lounge naked in bed with Kaiba for as long as possible.

"But we didn't have sex," Kaiba bluntly pointed out even though he knew he wasn't capable of it at the moment.

Yami couldn't help but laugh at that before he said, "Okay, a couple of things. Neither of us are capable of that right now. Plus, we haven't even gone on a date and it's not like you have to do _everything_ on your first time. And more importantly, your brother and my aibou are downstairs waiting and would hear us."

"Shouldn't that have stopped us from doing…this?"

Grinning at that, Yami sheepishly admitted, "Yeah, probably, but I just couldn't help it when you're just so…"

"So what?" Kaiba asked without understand.

"So you," Yami finished with another kiss that Kaiba was slow to pull away from until he remembered what they had been doing earlier. It hadn't bothered him in the heat of the moment, but now that he was of a clearer mind, it was grossing out Kaiba.

Yami was about to ask what Kaiba was making such a face for until he connected the dots on his own. "Oh, it's fine," Yami reassured him as he moved to get up off of Kaiba.

Without even realizing what he was doing, Kaiba's hand grabbed Yami's arm to stop him from leaving. It secretly made Yami extremely happy and he rewarded the possessive action with a hug that was awkwardly returned. "Trust me, I'd much rather stay here all day and night with you if I could," Yami murmured against Kaiba's ear before gently taking his earlobe into his mouth and suckled on it.

Kaiba sat up a little straighter at the sensation, shocked to find it a pleasurable feeling. It made Yami laugh as he realized, "So you have sensitive ears, huh? That could be fun."

Kaiba was about to protest that he didn't when Yami licked the shell of his ear and made him shudder. "What the hell?" Kaiba muttered, rubbing his other ear. "That makes no sense!"

Tugging lightly at Kaiba's lobe with a grin, Yami relished the sharp intake of breath as he played with it using his tongue. Oh, he could very easily get used to toying with Kaiba's erogenous zones that he was looking forward to discovering more of later, but that was for another time. "You know, for someone who was so reluctant, you're very eager now," Yami teased when he finally released Kaiba's ear.

"Shut up!" Kaiba gruffly ordered, but it only made Yami laugh.

Annoyed at the reaction, Kaiba released Yami from his arms and watched as his rival gracefully got off of him. Now that he had permission and experience, it made Kaiba want to touch Yami more, which was a startling feeling. He should have been fully satiated with what they had just done, but still some part of Kaiba didn't want to leave. However, his pride forced him to get dressed, even as he subtly watched Yami do the same.

Even though it was awkward, Kaiba forced himself to ask, "So when do we…meet again?"

"Whenever you want," Yami answered with a shrug. "My schedule tends to be pretty free when I'm not hanging out with my friends. We can go out, stay in, it doesn't matter to me as long as we can spend some time together."

The thought of randomly calling Yami to meet up was so foreign to Kaiba, but he was sure he could figure out something. "Okay," Kaiba agreed, surprising them both.

"Anything else before we go downstairs?" Yami offered, figuring Kaiba probably had more questions.

"When do you have time for our duel?" Kaiba asked, eager for a rematch.

Grinning in excitement at the possibility, Yami replied, "Whenever you have the time."

"Then prepare to be defeated soon," Kaiba told him, annoyed when Yami snickered at the comment.

"That's one way to get me on my knees," Yami joked, stunning Kaiba, who tried not to remember how good Yami had looked on his knees just moments ago.

Even though he didn't want to, Yami led the way downstairs to rejoin his friends after they stopped in the bathroom long enough to wash their hands and for him to brush his teeth. As they entered the living room, Kaiba held back a groan when he saw that Anzu, Jounouchi, and Honda had shown up in the interim.

"There you guys are!" Yuugi happily exclaimed. "Did you have a good talk?"

"Oh, yeah," Yami said with a wink in Kaiba's direction that horrified him. "We had some…catching up to do."

"Well, now you can catch up with us," Jounouchi said, meaning both Kaiba and Yami had to sit. The only available seats were opposite of each other, so they were forced to look at each other. It was probably for the best since Kaiba didn't trust Yami to keep his hands to himself.

"So Yami, where's your kitten?" Jounouchi asked once his friend was situated in his chair.

Without glancing at Kaiba, Yami replied, "He had to go home."

"I bet you miss him," Anzu added, having seen first hand how well the two had gotten along.

"Yeah, I do," Yami told her, causing Mokuba to laugh since he knew the truth.

Trying to cover up his amusement, Mokuba told his brother, "I wish you could have seen him. It was like a tiny Blue Eyes White Dragon."

"I have a picture if you want to see!" Yuugi volunteered, causing Kaiba to inwardly blanch.

"You do?" Yami asked in surprise, not remembering when that happened.

Pulling out his phone and getting up, Yuugi walked over to Yami and showed him the picture of him asleep with the kitten curled up at his side asleep. Yami thought it was adorable and he was grateful that Yuugi had done so, even though he knew Kaiba was probably going to be livid later.

Walking over to the brunette, Yuugi held out his phone and Kaiba could have died at the image presented to him. He realized just how tiny he was and it was embarrassing. "I can see why you would say that, although I can't see his eyes," Kaiba finally forced himself to say so it wouldn't seem suspicious.

"He had a bad attitude, though," Jounouchi said with a laugh, remembering how hard the little kitten had fought against him.

"That's because cats and dogs don't get along," Honda piped up to add, causing Jounouchi to playfully punch him in the arm.

"Hey, whose side are you on?" Jounouchi demanded, but his laughter ruined the effect.

"Your sister's?" Honda joked, setting Jounouchi off on a rampage as per usual.

As the two began to bicker back and forth, Kaiba watched them with a critical eye now that he knew the two of them were together as a couple. Nothing seemed particularly different about their interactions and Kaiba could hardly believe that they were actually seeing each other. Then again, nothing about his or Yami's behavior gave away anything that they had just been doing upstairs. It was all confusing to Kaiba and he tried not to think too hard on it, mostly because it led to him remembering what they had been doing and it was affecting him too much.

"Yo, what are you looking at?" Jounouchi demanded, finally noticing Kaiba's gaze trained on him.

"An idiot," Kaiba immediately replied, setting Jounouchi off again. Kaiba ignored it as he watched how Honda restrained Jounouchi, noticing it was far more like a hug than a casual restraint. He was also slow in letting go of Jounouchi once the threat of violence had passed. It was interesting to Kaiba, but he forced himself to shift his gaze out of feigned disinterest and it automatically found Yami, which annoyed him. But his eyes had always been drawn toward his rival even before his stint as a kitten.

"Come on you two, knock it off," Yami told them, not wanting to see them fight.

"He started it," Jounouchi defended himself.

"And you should be mature enough to end it," Anzu corrected him, causing everyone to laugh at the idea of Jounouchi being mature. "Okay, okay, but still. You two don't always have to fight, you know."

"We could settle this with a duel," Jounouchi challenged Kaiba.

Before Kaiba could respond, Yami interjected, "Sorry, I've got first dibs on him."

"Why am I not surprised?" Jounouchi asked with a laugh, completely missing the choice phrasing.

"When's your duel?" Mokuba excitedly asked, hoping to be allowed to watch it.

"I still need to look at my calendar, but soon," Kaiba replied, although he wasn't so sure he wanted his brother to watch this particular fight.

"I'm certainly looking forward to it," Yami said with a note of interest in his voice that reminded Kaiba of what they had been doing upstairs just moments ago.

"Mm," Kaiba found himself agreeing, trying not to see too eager.

"So what's the plan?" Yami asked, trying to refocus the conversation onto safer topics.

"Dinner?" Yuugi guessed. "We hadn't really gotten that far."

Looking down at his watch in surprise, Kaiba was shocked that it was almost time to eat. He hadn't realized how long he and Yami had been upstairs together.

Mokuba misinterpreted Kaiba's action and asked in dismay, "Do we have to go now?"

"What? Oh, no," Kaiba responded, realizing why his brother had made such an assumption.

Mokuba's face lit up with a bright smile that Kaiba couldn't help but respond to, even as he noticed Yami's subtle but pleased reaction. "Great!" Mokuba exclaimed, his enthusiasm returning now that he knew he didn't have to go yet.

Kaiba largely remained quiet while the friends debated what they should do for dinner, doing his best not to give himself or his interests away. He used his discipline and training to stop his mind from wandering to what had happened upstairs, knowing that there would be plenty of time for that later when he was alone.

* * *

**A/N:** This may in fact be the most awkward Kaiba I have ever written…

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"_You really don't need to do that," Kaiba told Yami as he warily watched him._

Things start heating up in the next chapter, so please look forward to it! I will post the next chapter on **Sunday, September 21st**. In the meantime, I shall enjoy hearing your reactions to this fun chapter.


	15. Chapter 15: Victories

**A/N:** Please be advised that this chapter is **51 percent lemon**, so please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 15: Victories**

Even though Kaiba knew that Mokuba would be disappointed later, he made the decision to cut school in order to duel his rival privately. There were just too many unknown factors going on between them for Kaiba to be comfortable with anyone—especially his younger brother—watching them.

Thus it came to be that Kaiba was in the backseat of his limo with Yami. Although Kaiba was at a loss as to starting a conversation with his rival that wasn't about dueling, Yami had no such problem.

"So how pissed are you that aibou took a picture of you as a kitten?" Yami asked as he shifted his body to better see Kaiba.

The truth was that Kaiba was extremely annoyed by it, but it wouldn't pay to let his rival know that. "It's not like there's anything I can do about it," Kaiba groused as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, but I suppose there are worse reactions to have," Yami commented, a bit surprised by Kaiba's attitude toward it. "Besides, it's not like he knows that it was you."

"A small saving grace," Kaiba crossly muttered, still annoyed.

"Are we going to Kaiba Land?" Yami asked, not recognizing the direction they were heading.

Shaking his head, Kaiba replied, "No," because not only did he not want witnesses, he especially didn't want security cameras recording them. "We're going to my house. I have an arena that I built."

"Even better," Yami eagerly decided, his eyes lighting up with potential.

The look Yami was giving him made a flare of heat course through Kaiba, but he did his best to ignore it. No, he refused to allow himself to be distracted during their duel! Although truth be told, he was a little surprised that Yami had behaved himself so far and kept his hands to himself. He had fully expected Yami to do something and Kaiba refused to acknowledge that he might be disappointed. _Ridiculous_, Kaiba thought to himself with a shake of his head.

"What?" Yami asked, unclear as to Kaiba's reaction.

"Nothing," Kaiba brushed it off with a dismissive wave. "Are you ready to be defeated?"

Grinning at the bravado, Yami asked, "Isn't that my line? Seeing as you've yet to win against me."

"That will change today," Kaiba arrogantly predicted.

"Mm, I love that cocky confidence of yours," Yami retorted with a smirk.

It was an odd thought and Kaiba couldn't stop himself from pointing out, "Most people find it irritating."

"I'm not most people," Yami reminded Kaiba. "I find it…endearing."

"You are seriously damaged," Kaiba realized, unable to understand his rival's reaction.

Shrugging, Yami agreed, "Yeah, probably, but that doesn't make me wrong."

"Whatever," Kaiba said, unwilling to concern himself with it any further.

Recognizing the dismissal, Yami shifted topics, "How much longer until we're at your place?"

"Impatient much?" Kaiba asked instead of answering.

"Aren't you?" Yami questioned with a laugh, knowing Kaiba was eager for their rematch as him.

Rather than confirming, Kaiba merely commented in a lofty voice, "I didn't realize you were so eager to lose to me."

As the ride continued, so did the banter and it was a relief in light of their altered relationship. However, it was a relief when Isono finally pulled into the long driveway. Trying not to look overeager, Kaiba led the way into his home, pleased when Yami's teasing gave way to his serious dueling demeanor as they took their respective sides in Kaiba's modified dueling arena.

It was an intense battle and Kaiba's everything was engaged in it. He felt so alive and invigorated, even as he ached for a win. But Kaiba refused to let himself to become distracted by Yami, even though he couldn't help but notice how attractive Yami looked when he was in his element. Knowing he was holding his own against someone as powerful as Yami was a heady power trip of its own, but Kaiba pushed it aside to think about later. It didn't pay to think on how Kaiba had managed to reduce someone as powerful as Yami down to moans and sighs through his actions a few days ago. Even though his rival's growls of irritation reminded him of that time together.

Kaiba was just relieved that Yami didn't seem distracted and was giving the duel his all. It meant Kaiba was a worthy opponent and he fought hard to finally claim a victory against his rival it was a fierce fight with neither giving an inch to the other. It was close and down to the wire, which only excited Kaiba further as they neared the end of their long duel. There was no gap between them; it was an even and fair fight for the taking.

When Kaiba played his final card down, he stared in disbelief when he realized that he had actually _won_. He had finally achieved his greatest desire, defeating as the reality of the situation hit him. Kaiba was overcome with a rush of complicated emotions. He finally had his victory and even though there were no witnesses, it couldn't take away from the fact that Kaiba had _finally_ won against his only and greatest rival. He had always pictured himself laughing maniacally and denouncing Yami over his loss, but that urge was strangely absent. Even though Kaiba had defeated his rival, somehow it didn't render Yami to worthless. No, they could still challenge each other because only they were worthy enough. It was shocking to realize that even though he had won, Kaiba still wanted to duel against Yami again and again.

It was enough to draw Kaiba's attention to Yami. Kaiba wasn't sure how he had expected Yami to react to losing. Once Kaiba would have wanted to see him battered and broken by the loss, but now such a thing held no appeal to Kaiba. No, he appreciated Yami's dignity, even if he found it infuriating at times. As they descended the stairs to meet in the middle of the room, Kaiba could see the intense pride in Yami's eyes, filling him with a mix of feelings.

They stood there and stared at each other for a few moments as Kaiba continued processing his victory. Yami finally spoke, "Congratulations," and it pulled Kaiba back into the reality of the moment.

"I won," Kaiba stated, surprised and annoyed by how shocked he still sounded about that fact. "I fucking _won_."

"I know," Yami confirmed with a grin at the reaction. "You were really great."

Unable to address the compliment, Kaiba realized, "You're not mad."

"Of course I'm not," Yami told him with a gentle smile. "I enjoy seeing your victories, even if they're against me. You've become a true duelist, Kaiba."

It was true, Kaiba realized. He had fought for the sole sake of competing with his rival. Kaiba hadn't fought to defend his honor, or save his brother, or bring more reputation to his company. It was a pure fight, which made the win that much better. And it was all possible because he had such a powerful rival who challenged him in every way to become better.

It made Kaiba close the distance between them as he really looked at Yami, as if seeing him for the first time. No one other than his younger brother had ever inspired Kaiba to do so much, but somehow Yami seemed to push him to achieve greater things just by existing. As infuriating as Yami could be at times, Kaiba knew that his life would have much less meaning without his rival in it. All of which drove Kaiba forward, kissing Yami almost hesitantly before delving deeper when he wasn't rejected. Yami sighed into the kiss as he drew their bodies closer, pleased by the initiative and not the least bit surprised when it was escalated.

Kaiba had thought winning couldn't feel any better, but being with Yami in such a way was proving him wrong in the most pleasurable of ways. How could merely kissing him incite such feelings in him?

"I like how you celebrate," Yami teased in between kisses, finally daring to strip Kaiba of his uniform jacket to move things along quicker.

Was that what Kaiba was doing? He wasn't so sure. All he knew was that in that moment the urge to kiss Yami had been too strong to resist, even if he didn't understand it. As much as he had thought about what they had done previously, Kaiba still wasn't completely sure about things. He had discovered desire and it certainly was focused exclusively on Yami and no one else, so Kaiba figured that had to count for something.

And while Kaiba enjoyed dominating Yami's desires, that was a totally separate thing from dominating _him_. "I'm not doing this because you were defeated," Kaiba finally found the voice to say, the very idea of it bothering him.

"Shh, I was just teasing," Yami reassured Kaiba before stripping out of his own jacket. "I wasn't viewing this as a conciliatory action, if that's what you're worried about."

"Good," Kaiba accidently declared before he began kissing Yami once more. When Yami started to take off Kaiba's shirt, he automatically returned the favor. This time he didn't need to be told to touch Yami, Kaiba was more than content to do so. It was interesting to feel his rival melt against him, even as he found himself starting to respond to the similar treatment he was currently receiving.

Deciding he would continue until stopped, Yami began working off Kaiba's pants and briefs, which were kicked to the side with his socks. Yami was surprised that Kaiba was only half-hard, but he was confident that he could quickly change that.

Caught up in the moment, Kaiba did the same to Yami, leaving them both named and endlessly touching each other while kissing. It was why Kaiba needed a moment before he said, "Wait."

Even though it wasn't what he waned to hear, Yami rested his hands on Kaiba's hips and looked up at him patiently. "For what?"

"Is this…okay?" Kaiba finally asked, still not pleased with his word choice. However, Kaiba got the impression that this time they were going to do a lot more than just touch each other.

Smiling reassuringly at Kaiba as he brushed his thumbs against tempting hipbones, Yami replied, "As long as you're okay with it."

"Didn't you say that we were supposed to go on a date first?" Kaiba reminded Yami, even though it was somewhat embarrassing.

Holding back a grin at that, Yami pointed out, "We just made time to spend together doing an activity of shared interest. I'm pretty sure that qualifies as a date."

"Works for me," Kaiba finally decided before resuming kissing Yami enthusiastically.

Having expected more objections, Yami was pleasantly surprised by the action. He indulged in it momentarily before parting and walking toward his bag that he had discarded earlier, completely confusing Kaiba in the process.

"What are you doing?" Kaiba wanted to know.

"Don't worry about it," Yami said, quickly getting what he wanted before returning to Kaiba's side while keeping it concealed in his hand.

Before Kaiba could ask a follow up question, he was startled when Yami got on the floor and lay down in front of him. "Now what the hell are you doing on the floor?" Kaiba demanded in exasperation.

"Waiting for you to join me," Yami answered, the cold floor raising chills on his body that didn't go unnoticed by Kaiba.

Looking down at Yami, Kaiba skeptically asked, "Shouldn't we relocate upstairs if we're going to continue…this?"

Grinning at that, Yami tried to reason him, "I'd rather stay here where you finally had your first win over me. Plus, this is something that I've always…pictured us doing. Besides, there's plenty of time for beds later."

Shrugging in response, Kaiba finally concluded that if Yami was fine on the floor, it was all that really mattered. It was with that in mind that Kaiba finally moved to join him, even as he muttered, "This is weird."

"It'll be sexy as hell soon," Yami promised with a knowing smirk.

"If you say so," Kaiba said in a disbelieving tone as he carefully settled himself over Yami.

Taking advantage of the fact that Kaiba was still unbalanced, Yami flipped them to that he ended up on top with a triumphant noise. Setting aside what he had grabbed from his bag, Yami began kissing Kaiba before he could lodge a protest. However, he soon left Kaiba's lips in favor of finally getting the chance to explore his tempting body.

"You really don't need to do that," Kaiba told Yami as he warily watched him.

"You forget that this is enjoyable for me, too," Yami said with a laugh as he continued working his way down Kaiba's body with feather light touches and teasing kisses.

Kaiba was about to protest until he remembered that he had in fact derived some pleasure out of doing the same to Yami. Even if it was just to see what new noise he could wring out of his rival. Instead of saying anything, Kaiba tried to force himself to relax as Yami continued. He was definitely starting to feel the actions and Kaiba subtly shifted beneath Yami as he tried to settle himself and his emotions.

It was odd for Kaiba to accept such attention at first, but gradually he became accustomed to it. When Yami suckled on one of his hipbones, it finally drew a soft gasp out of Kaiba as an unexpected feeling shot through him at the action. "That's more like it," Yami murmured against him before tracing it with his tongue. "Although…"

"Although what?" Kaiba asked when Yami trailed off and said nothing further.

Getting excited by his own plan, Yami shifted himself so that his face was next to one of Kaiba's ears. Rather than answering with words, Yami licked along the curve of Kaiba's ear before gently taking the earlobe into his mouth and suckling on it, toying with it using his tongue. Kaiba 's whole body instantly went rigid at the action and Yami couldn't stop himself from chuckling low in his throat, pleased when he heard Kaiba's breath catch at the sound. Reaching between them, Yami grinned when he felt Kaiba was fully hard and responding to his touch. Lightly stroking his member while he continued, Yami gently tugged on the earlobe at the same time. It caused Kaiba to arch up under the touch with a moan he couldn't contain and it pleased Yami greatly. Nipping at the earlobe teasingly before letting it go, Yami began his next attack on the upper part of Kaiba's ear. Kaiba inhaled deeply, trying to control his reactions, but the dual stimulation was starting to become too much. "Yami," Kaiba tried to warn, but there was a strong note of need in his voice that displeased him.

"Hm?" Yami hummed before nipping as Kaiba's ear to see what happened.

Kaiba's whole body reacted to the action and it was enough to cause him to stop Yami's hand from stimulating him any further and flip their positions. His breathing was a bit ragged and Yami's smug look was doing him no favors. "What the actual fuck? They're just _ears_."

"At least now I know why you always flicked yours away from me when you were a kitten," Yami teased as he tweaked one with his free hand.

"It was _annoying_," Kaiba protested as he tried to move away from Yami's hand.

"And now it's a turn on. Go figure," Yami commented with a laugh as he made himself more comfortable under Kaiba.

It made Kaiba lean forward and take Yami's ear into his mouth in an attempt for revenge. All it did was make Yami laugh as he said, "Unfortunately for you, that doesn't work on me."

"What the hell?" Kaiba muttered after he released Yami's ear.

Running his fingers through Kaiba's lush brunette hair, Yami encouraged, "You'll just have to work harder to find my weak spot."

"Oh, I'll find it," Kaiba swore, determined not to lose.

Grinning at the reaction, Yami told him, "I look forward to it."

With that in mind, Kaiba enthusiastically began exploring Yami's body in search of his weakness, but without much success. While it was true that Yami seemed more sensitive in general and was quicker to make noises, Kaiba could tell that he still hadn't found that spot that would drive Yami into mindless lust. It was frustrating, but Kaiba persevered with his efforts. When Yami's stomach proved fruitless, Kaiba worked his way back upward toward his neck. When Kaiba grazed over Yami's collarbone, he was surprised when he heard his rival's breath hitch over such an unusual spot. It encouraged Kaiba to explore further, licking along the prominent edge of the clavicle before sucking on it teasingly. That earned him a whine that got caught in Yami's throat. When Kaiba began lightly nibbling on it, figuring his rival always seemed to be doing that to him, Yami began shifting under him restlessly with a moan that went straight through Kaiba. Figuring turn about was fair play, Kaiba reached between them and took Yami's member in hand as he began lavishing attention on his rival's collarbone, although he found it bizarre.

Even as Yami thrust into Kaiba's hand, Yami warned, "Unless you want this to be over before we begin, I'd suggest you stop."

Releasing Yami's length, Kaiba said in disbelief, "It's a _collarbone_."

Laughing at Kaiba's reaction, Yami reached up and tweaked one of his ears as he asked, "And how is that any weirder than ears?"

"It's not, but…" Kaiba started to say before he caught notice of the small bottle on the floor. "What's that?"

Inwardly amused that it took the normally observant Kaiba so long to notice, Yami answered, "What you need to proceed."

Leaning over to grab it, Kaiba examined it with an arched eyebrow. "You were certainly…_prepared_ for this outcome."

Shrugging with a grin, Yami replied, "What can I say? I'm an optimist."

"A pervert is more like it," Kaiba retorted before returning his attention to the small bottle.

"It works better if you actually use it instead of look at it," Yami teased, annoying Kaiba.

"_Yes_," Kaiba irritably snapped. When Yami snickered in response, Kaiba glared at him in return, but his rival wasn't the least bit phased by it.

Taking pity on Kaiba, Yami ran his fingers over his own entrance as he moaned, "Here."

Something short circuited in Kaiba's brain at the sight and he acted without thought as he dispensed some lube onto his fingers. Even as his mind logically understood that he would fit inside of Yami's tight entrance, Kaiba found it hard to believe as he studied the spot before touching it.

Just as Yami was about to encourage Kaiba further, he moved on his own. Cautiously sliding a single finger inside his rival. He was surprised by how little resistance he met and it made Kaiba realize, "You've done this before."

"To myself? Yeah," Yami confirmed, relieved when Kaiba finally started to move his finger. "Never with anyone else, though."

The mental image of Yami working himself on his fingers made Kaiba groan when combined with the tight heat embracing him. "And you thought of me?" Kaiba asked, his voice sounding rough at the thought of such a thing.

Realizing Kaiba was more interested in the idea than he was trying to let on, Yami elaborated, "I often pictured you taking me hard and fast after a duel as I pleasured myself," as he began casually stroking himself.

Kaiba recognized that he shouldn't find that such an appealing image, but damned if the thought of it didn't turn him on immensely. "Yami," Kaiba said, his voice dark with need.

"Like that, don't you?" Yami realized with a smirk as he stopped toughing himself.

Even though Kaiba refused to say anything, his eyes gave away his interest. "Why am I not surprised?" Yami murmured as he wished Kaiba would speed things along a bit. "I'm not going to break you know."

Still distracted by the thoughts of Yami alone and thinking about him, Kaiba was slow to process what was really being said. Hesitantly, Kaiba slipped in another finger, earning him a pleased noise from Yami. "Don't you find this to be a tedious process?" Kaiba questioned, even as he continued moving his fingers inside of Yami, occasionally trying to spread them to see if he could accommodate more.

"Yes, but it's worth it," Yami promised. "So fucking worth it…"

"But you've never actually had sex," Kaiba pointed out, finding it an odd assertion.

"That doesn't mean I haven't done other things," Yami countered, stirring Kaiba's curiosity.

"What other things?" Kaiba asked as he finally added a third finger.

"You've never explored your body?" Yami questioned, even though he thought he probably knew the answer was no.

Shrugging, Kaiba truthfully replied, "I never saw the point."

"Then I very much look forward to showing you later," Yami murmured, getting excited all over again by the possibilities.

Rather than commenting on that, Kaiba stated, "You never answered my original question."

"I have some toys," Yami replied, finding no harm in it.

"Toys," Kaiba repeated without understanding.

"Dildos, vibrators, that sort of thing," Yami explained with a grin at Kaiba's eyes widening in surprise.

Unsure what his reaction was to that, Kaiba could only ask, "Why?"

"Because I never thought this would actually happen," Yami answered. "Plus they're useful because fingers just aren't enough."

"And yet you thought about it anyway," Kaiba stated, finding it weird.

Holding back a laugh at how pragmatic Kaiba was being, Yami said, "It's called fantasy for a reason. Didn't you ever fantasize when you were alone?"

"Why would I waste my time fantasizing about something when I could just make it happen?" Kaiba asked, not seeing the point in wasting so much time on such pointless thoughts.

Realizing that Kaiba was completely missing the point, Yami figured that was a conversation for another time. "I'm good now, so _please_," Yami pleaded, feeling like he was going out of his mind with want.

That was all Kaiba needed to hear to move on with things. Slicking himself up, Kaiba realized that he had nothing to clean his hand off with in the room.

Figuring out what Kaiba was looking for, Yami suggested, "Use your shirt."

"My _shirt_?" Kaiba repeated, sounding horrified by the idea.

"I still have to wear mind home," Yami reminded him with a laugh. "It's water soluble, so it'll be fine. It won't stain, promise."

Grumbling about it, Kaiba still complied and got up to go and find his shirt. Only after he was done did he return to Yami's side, where he was welcomed with open arms. Kaiba didn't reject the embrace, nor the sweet kiss he received from Yami. He parted long enough to look down in order to line himself up and slowly push into Yami. He was unprepared for the sensation of that slick, tight heat embracing him so intimately and Kaiba had to hide his face against Yami's neck for a moment as he tried to adjust. When Kaiba fully in, Yami moaned softly in relief at finally having that ache fulfilled. Running his fingers through Kaiba's hair calmingly, Yami sighed, "Kaiba," and grinned when it caused the brunette's hips to thrust instinctively.

"Sorry," Kaiba immediately apologized as he moved to face Yami once more.

"For what?" Doing what you're supposed to?" Yami teased. "You're not going to hurt me, Kaiba."

It gave Kaiba the confidence he needed to move and he started with shallow thrusts as he got used to the movement and the sensations. Yami put his hands on Kaiba's broad shoulders, loving the feel of strong muscles moving. Kaiba allowed the touch as he continued, finally starting to thrust harder and deeper as Yami kept pace with him. Kaiba was pleased by the random sighs of pleasure he was earning, but he wanted more. Slightly shifting his balance, Kaiba moved his hands from bracing on the floor to holding Yami's hips. He knew he had succeeded with a better angle when Yami cried out in pleasure and surprise. "Oh, right there," Yami gasped and for once Kaiba didn't balk at the order. Instead he continued, watching as Yami arched and writhed under him with the most erotic of moans that spurred Kaiba on as they continued.

Kaiba largely remained quiet throughout, but when Yami tensed around him, it caused him to make an, "Ahh," noise that pleased his rival. "It's okay to be noisy," Yami told Kaiba. "In fact, I like it."

"I can tell," Kaiba said with a smirk that made Yami punch him playfully on the arm.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Yami complained as he let his arms fall to the floor while he luxuriated under Kaiba's ministrations.

"It's…not a bad thing," Kaiba finally forced himself to admit.

Grinning, Yami realized, "You like being able to make me moan."

"It's better than hearing you talk," Kaiba joked with a grin that made Yami want to kiss him despite the words.

"I don't believe you," Yami said with a laugh. "Besides, we both know you'd get bored if I was as quiet as you."

"And what's to prevent you from getting bored with me?" Kaiba asked, knowing he wasn't always the easiest person to talk to normally.

"Because you always keep me on my toes having to read between the lines," Yami replied.

Deciding that Yami was far too coherent for his tastes, Kaiba stepped up his efforts. It was met with success when Yami arched up underneath him with a loud cry and Kaiba moaned again at the feeling of his rival's whole body reacting to him. It felt so good to be surrounded by his rival in such a manner that Kaiba could hardly believe it. How could heat and friction feel so damn amazing?

When Yami shifted his position to wrap his legs around Kaiba's waist, he thought he was going to be overwhelmed by the ensuing pleasure as he held on tightly while calling out, "Kaiba!"

"Yes!" Kaiba growled in response, ceaselessly moving as he neared his peak.

Determined to last longest, Kaiba reached between them and started stroking Yami's member. It made Yami writhe as he was reduced to fragments of words and sounds. He knew he wouldn't last for long and when Kaiba moaned, "Yami," because he had tightened up further as he came close to his edge. It took but moments before Yami came, his whole body reacting to the experience.

As Kaiba felt Yami's reaction at the most intimate of levels, it caused him to come as well, arching back as he thrust as deep into his rival as he could. His mind went completely offline in that moment and all Kaiba could do was breathe as he came down off of his high. Kaiba had never known it was possible to feel so good and he remained still for the moment, just feeling everything deeply.

Yami leaned up and stole a languid kiss before asking, "Doing okay?"

"Yeah," Kaiba replied, still processing everything. He had thought what he and Yami had done the other day had been good, but this was a whole new level of amazing that had Kaiba's heart racing. He could feel himself starting to soften, so Kaiba pulled out, causing Yami to groan in protest over feeling so empty.

Yami reached up and guided Kaiba to lie down on his chest. All Kaiba could think was, "I'm too tall for this."

Even though he didn't want to move, Yami reversed their positions so he was no on top of Kaiba. "Better?" Yami asked with amusement in his tone.

Hesitantly wrapping his arms around Yami, Kaiba quietly murmured, "Mm," as he waited for his body to return to normal. Still, he didn't quite want to let go of the almost peaceful feeling that overcame him as the bliss ebbed away slowly.

"So how amazing do you feel right now?" Yami asked as he toyed with strands of brunette hair.

"Aren't you used to this?" Kaiba asked, not rejecting the touch.

"Being by yourself and being with the person you like are two totally different things," Yami told him. "I've never felt that good in my life."

It pleased Kaiba to hear for some reason and he found himself running his fingers along the curve of Yami's spine, sending shivers through his rival. "Seriously?" Kaiba questioned, finding it hard to believe for some reason, despite having never achieved anything close to what he felt when by himself.

"You just can't compare fooling around to what we just did," Yami replied. "Being together with the person that you're like is what makes it so special. Knowing that you're the one touching me…it's amazing."

Kaiba supposed he could understand that. Everything was just _more_ somehow when he was with Yami. He shivered when Yami began lightly tracing the shell of his ear with one of his fingers. "You really need to stop doing that," Kaiba told Yami, but there was no real reprimand in his voice.

"But it's fun," Yami protested, still toying with Kaiba's ear.

"For you, maybe," Kaiba retorted.

Laughing at that, Yami said, "Oh, please. Like you're not enjoying it."

Poking Yami in the side, Kaiba replied, "That's not the point."

Kissing Kaiba's neck, Yami explained, "I just can't help myself. Now that I know I'm allowed to touch, I don't want to stop."

"Then what the hell are you going to do when we're in public," Kaiba wondered.

"I know how to behave when there's other people around, relax," Yami told him. "But there's nobody here now but us, so…"

It made Kaiba realize that his brother would be home soon and he held up his arm so he could check the time on his watch. "Shit, my brother should be home in about two hours," Kaiba informed Yami.

"Then that gives us plenty of time for lunch," Yami happily said as he forced himself to move from his comfortable position.

"Yeah, I guess I could eat," Kaiba decided after a moment. "But first we should clean up. Bathroom is over there."

Yami looked over in surprise to where Kaiba pointed. "I didn't realize you had one in here," Yami commented.

"It made sense for long hours when I'm practicing in here against the AI," Kaiba explained.

Rather than commenting, Yami walked toward the bathroom. Kaiba was going to start getting dressed until he remembered the state of his shirt. He decided to take his dirty clothes upstairs to change, cleaning himself while he was while he was in his room. Quickly redressing, Kaiba returned downstairs where Yami was waiting for him fully dressed.

"I was wondering where you had run off to," Yami commented when Kaiba appeared.

"I wasn't wearing my shirt in that condition," Kaiba stated as he led the way to his kitchen.

As they began discussing their lunch options, Kaiba couldn't help but marvel at how natural it felt. He had expected some awkwardness, but there was none. Instead they fell into a natural rhythm like they hadn't always been rivals but friends. It allayed a concern that Kaiba hadn't even realized that he had. Rather than thinking on it further, for once, Kaiba just let it go and focused on making lunch as they continued to talk.

* * *

**A/N:** It's fun watching Kaiba work things out in his head and Yami is such a patient teacher. Quite the pair, these two. But hey, Kaiba _finally_ won a duel!

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

_Kaiba's demeanor was fine, but Mokuba was still a little worried._

Next chapter will go up on **Sunday, September 28th,** so please look forward to it! Until then, I look to hearing your reactions to this chapter. Thank you again for the continued support on this story!


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